Time To Instill Bravery
by BaileeBlair19
Summary: This is a story following my last story, Time To Be Brave. I got lots of requests for a sequel. This story includes all our favorite characters but goes way off the path of the show into something I created. It's the story of how everyone has returned to the Enchanted forest into a prosperous life but an impending threat grows between Belle and Rumple.
1. Chapter 1

** *This is set in an alternate ending that I created. I don't know how once upon a time will end for good but if it were to really end I think this would be how it would be. Or at least how I would like it to be ;). The issue with Peter Pan is resolved, after much struggle and stopping the curse from being spread for the second time, he is locked away in Pandora's box. With no further threats Mr. Gold finds a way to return everyone back to the enchanted forest. After much talk everyone decides to return to home. With much encouragement Baelfire and Emma take the place of King and Queen of the kingdom with Charming and Snow by their side to aid them. Henry becomes a prince and begins training to become a rightful prince. Charming and Snow go on to expand their family and has a son, Charles. Regina discovers her other true love, Robin Hood, who even has a four year old son Roland. Emma and Baelfire agree not to banish Regina from the kingdom in exchange that she surrender her powers and she can live out a life with Robin and Roland and visit Henry at the castle whenever she pleases. After persuasion from Robin, she agrees. Mr. Gold strips her powers away and places it inside a heart shaped locket. The real Peter Pan is locked away in Pandora's box, Mr. Gold locks away the box deep within the dungeons of his dark castle where no one can ever reach it along with his dagger and Regina's locket. As for and Belle, with no threats to pull Mr. Gold away, the two of them move into the town ran by Neil and Emma creating a life together as a married couple. . .**

After nearly 30 years after the curse had been cast the land was was scarred and baron. Mr. Gold, now resuming his true name in this land as Rumpelstiltskin, used his powers to restore the land. Upon his return to the Enchanted Forrest he could feel almost instantly that his power was magnified. He restored all the castles, the forests, and the towns. Everything seemed to fall back into place, back to the way it should be.  
Everyone seemed to find a place in the new world, whether is was a king or a librarian or a lover, everyone found a place. Belle took up a career as keeper of the library in the prospering town looming below Neil and Emma's castle. Rumpel took a post as an adviser to Neil and Emma to see the wealth of the gold he spun and protection of the kingdom. They were provided a comfortable estate, along with most of the people that were in Storybrooke together. Regina and Robin, Granny and Red, Jiminy Cricket, the dwarfs, each had found a place in the town and gained a home they now called their own. It was the happy ending that everyone had always dreamed of.  
It was the beginning of another morning at Rumpel's household. Belle had prepared breakfast for her husband and he was still up in their bedroom preparing for the day. He had gotten a letter from a messenger requesting his presence at the castle today. Usually he was not needed, only for important matters. Rumple had no fear however, everything was going so great he could see to feasible threat anywhere. All the neighboring kingdoms were all at peace with one another.  
He came down the stairs and saw Belle over the fire preparing his meal. He came up behind Belle wrapping his arms around her waist, "you know dearie you don't have to prepare every meal of mine anymore. You're not my housekeeper anymore. You're my wife."  
"I didn't realize there was a difference," Belle joked smiling at him.  
He giggled along with her and kissed her. No matter how many times she smiled at him or kissed him he could still feel the hairs on the back of his neck tingle everytime.  
He broke the kiss and looked down at the sapphire ring he had given to her so long ago. He smiled at the new amazing memories attached to the ring. Back in Storybrook, Belle believed herself to be Lacey, the scantly clad bar hopper. When a spell was released to destroy all of Storybrook and kill all those in it 'Lacey' and Mr. Gold were in his shop sharing a drink over the last few moments. Mr. Gold told her about his most prized possessions, the chipped tea cup and the rings. He slipped the ring onto Lacey's finger and suddenly she looked at him in a new way. Mr. Gold came to came to realize that whenever she would wear the ring all her memories would return.  
But that moment was over three years ago, things were perfect now and despite Rumpel being called to the castle he had faith nothing was wrong.  
Belle handed him a plate and they sat together to breakfast.  
"Do you have any idea about what may be going on at the castle today?" Belle asked with a hint of worry in her voice as she ate.  
"I'm sure it's nothing to fear, things are fine. No quarrels with any other kingdom and plenty of wealth for everyone here in the kingdom," Rumpel replied.  
"Then why would you be called to the castle," Belle asked.  
Rumpel took her hand across the table, "I don't know, but I'm sure everything will be fine. I have faith is everyone."  
"You're starting to sound like Charming," Belle pointed out smiling. It was nice to see her Rumpel so carefree and smile. Seeing him smile because of her brought Belle more joy than ever.  
"For once I understand where he was coming from when him and Snow were together, things are prefect," he smiled to her.  
The two finished their breakfast and prepared to leave, a carriage arrived to take Rumple to the castle. Rumpel kissed Belle good-bye and promised to give her word of what was going on once he found out what it was and they parted ways.  
Belle walked towards the library and pulled her cloak closer to her, Winter was defiantly on it's way. The trees were changing colors and the air was getting colder. Neil and Emma had already sent out invitations to their annual Christmas Ball. It was always the highlight of the year for all of the town. The town was filled with Christmas cheer and Neil and Emma always showered the towns people with gifts and money. Belle loved the extravagant parties, mostly because she could attend them with Rumpel and they no longer faced judgment from anyone like they did years ago.  
Her father was still not as accepting, he lived in the town selling flowers but he rarely talked to Belle or Rumpel. Poor Rumpel tried to win over her father after years had passed to try to reconnect the family that he knew Belle desired but he was just as stubborn as his daughter. He would never accept Rumpel but Rumpel did live up to the promise he had made to Maurice decades ago. That he would find Belle and take care of her forever. His conscience was clear.  
Rumpel's carriage finally arrived at the castle and he made his way to the conference room. He saw his son standing there. Neil or Baelfire and he decided to be. Rumpelstiltskin's son, a King. Rumpel was so proud of him, he had created himself to be a better man than he had ever hoped her would be.  
"Father," Baelfire greeted with a hug, "It's great to see you. How's Belle?"  
"She's doing great, she was practically in hysterics when she received your invitation to the Christmas Ball," Rumpel said with his warmest smile.  
"Ah as Emma says its an excuse for all the women to dress up and show off to all us men," Baelfire explained.  
"And you're complaining?" Rumpel asked and shared a man to man laugh with his son.  
"Emma's right you know," came a voice. The men turned to see Snow looking gracious as ever with a unruly three year old on her hip, Charlie her new son, "It is an excuse for us all to show off to you men."  
"And trust me we love every second of it," Baelfire laughed playfully slapping his father on his shoulder knowing he'd understand.  
"To bad Emma won't participate," Snow said particularly loud as her daughter strolled into the council room.  
"Nope!" she said strolling past her taking a seat at the round table. Emma was the first Queen in history that refused to wear dresses. Her in a dress was almost next to never.  
"Damn shame..." Baelfire mumbled.  
Rumpel chuckled and took his seat at the round table. Snow handed off little Charlie to nanny being that he didn't need to be present for the meeting and many others filled in taking their seats including the dwarfs, Charming, Granny and Red, and of course Jiminy.  
"So what's been going on? Why are we all meeting?" Red asked standing behind Granny.  
"We have word of a potential problem coming to us," Baelfire began to explain to everyone.  
"A potential problem?" Grumpy asked confused.  
"It's from Camelot, Kind Midas has been sending us threats," Baelfire continued.  
"Threats of what? We have done nothing to them!" Snow proclaimed.  
"I know, that's why its only a potential problem," Baelfire said.  
"Does he ever state in his letter's what hes concerned about?" Rumpel asks.  
"He thinks that we're harboring a weapon," Emma states to the party.  
"What kind of a weapon?" Charming asks.  
"They never specified," Baelfire informs.  
"Then what's their grounds for these threats?" Rumpel asks. This all seemed very fishy.  
"They said that a prophet came wondering through their land. They said that our kingdom had some sort of weapon that was going to devour everything," Baelfire explained.  
"Could it be a curse?" Snow asked.  
"What curse would it be?" Baelfire asked, "my father stripped Regina of all her power so it's not her, and he is the only one that could cast a curse."  
Of course no one believed that Rumpel would. He had gained the loyalty and trust of everyone since they returned to the enchanted forest three years ago. He had brought the kingdom much fortune given that he could spin gold from straw. He had sworn to himself to never to use his magic other than the intent of protecting Belle but with such peace and prosperity he had no reason to use his magic.  
"What about the locket?" Charming asked looking towards Rumpel.  
"The locket is hidden, deep beneath the earth in my old castle. No one can reach it anyways, it's protected with enchantments that only another magic can open," Rumpel explained to them. He knew in his heart the locket wasn't the weapon.  
The locket they were referring to was the silver locket with a deep blood red stone on it. It held all of Regina's powers. Part of her agreement for staying in the kingdom was that she surrender her powers. She agreed and Rumpel hid the locket after he had done the deed of taking her powers away.  
"I think we should arrange a meeting with King Midas, invite him to the Christmas Ball and ask him to stay a few days after and we will discuss the issues with him," Jiminy Cricket tried to be the voice of reason, "perhaps this is all a big misunderstanding."  
"I agree," Snow piped in, "we have given no one any reason to be upset with us. For now I think we need to just be calm and keep moving forward. Then we'll discuss this with Midas in person."  
Everyone agreed to the notion. So they would just continue on and request an audience with King Midas. Even after this meeting Rumpel was still not shaken. This was all just a misunderstanding, he was sure.

***Please Review:) I'd love some feedback***


	2. Chapter 2

Belle couldn't seem to put herself at ease. She knew that Rumpel wasn't called into a meeting unless it was important. She understood Rumpel's point though, they had never seen such an era of peace in years. Still, she wouldn't be as worried as she was if it weren't for her dreams.

She had dreams of a disfigured old woman coming to her in her dreams. She spoke madness, nothing but hysterics. She talked about the lands burning, the royal family falling and of Belle's death. The old woman warned her that Belle was in danger but she never said of what. She shook of her dreams as just that, dreams. She knew that she was not in any danger, Rumpel made well sure of that. Still...

She went about her day working at the town's library, she loved her job. She had sessions of reading to the towns children. She told them stories about Henry and Emma and how they had saved them all. Seeing the children's smiling faces helped put her foreboding dreams out of her mind. It turned her mind to another subject, one that she wasn't ready to admit to anyone, not even Rumpel. She craved a child of her own but she wasn't sure she was ready or if Rumpel would agree.

Snow and Charming wasted no time with producing another child. Belle often spent time with Charlie visiting the castle for brunch or at parties that Baelfire and Emma would throw. Snow and Charlie were also regulars to her reading sessions. He was a rambunctious but delightful little boy.

Many had pointed out that Rumpel and Belle were yet to produce a child, they just shook them all off and said someday. Belle was nervous, so was Rumpel but they never really discussed the possibility of reproducing. They had been perfectly happy as is.

The day creeped by along with the sun. As it was beginning to set the parents of the town's children came by the library to pick them all up as Belle waved them all good-bye. A royal carriage stopped outside the Library and dropped Rumpel off.

"Hey," Rumpel greeted maneuvering through the children up the steps.

"Hey," Belle greeted back and welcomed his open arms. They stayed wrapped around each other and even when they fell out Rumpel kept his hand on her waist.

"Everything alright up at the castle?" Belle asked.

"Yes, you have nothing to fear dearie," Rumpel confided.

"Than what was the meeting about?" Belle asked.

"Let's go home and I'll tell you," Rumpel said taking her hand and began heading a few blocks away to their home.

They entered the house and sat together snaked around each other on the couch.

"So what happened?" Belle asked.

"Apparently, Baelfire and Emma have been receiving threats from Camelot," Rumpel began to explain, "But their threats have no logical ground work."

"Why? What is Camelot saying?"

"They think that we have some kind of weapon."

"But we don't!"

"I know," Rumpel said rubbing her shoulder comfortingly, "Bae and Emma are inviting Kind Midas to the Christmas Ball and to stay so that we can all have a discussion. It's just a misunderstanding. That's why no one is worried...well except for you. Why are you so worried?"

"Just paranoid really..." Belle replied. She hadn't told Rumpel about her recurring dreams, "Things are just so good right now. I don't want it to end."

"And it never will Belle," Rumpel said pulling her closer, he laced his finger through her hair cradling her, "as long as I'm here, you will never be alone."

Belle knew this was true, when she had found her way back to Rumpel back in Storybrook he hardly let anyone come near her. He had always been protective of her ever since what happened to her long ago with Hook. Belle loved his protective nature.

Rumpel placed his lips onto hers asking for entrance to her mouth, once she eagerly accepted.

"C'mon, let me see if I can appease all of your worries," Rumpel said standing and pulling her to their room.

Belle followed hot and ready upstairs to their room. After the sun had set and Belle and Rumpel were covered in a layer of sweat entangled in each other all of Belle's fears faded away. They faded because she knew that as long as Rumpel wrapped around her they way he was now she didn't need to worry. She just wished her dreams would stop haunting her.

It was just the same as always. She was in a dark forest alone, she kept calling for Rumpel but he was no where to be seen. She recognized the forest, it was the same one that surrounded Rumpel's old castle, she retraced her memory down a failure path and through the woods and brush she found his castle. However it was in flames, she could see a large fire raging through the windows and large dark smoke escaped through the top clouding the sky.

She began to worry that was were her Rumpel was and was going to start running towards the castle when she appeared. When she came to her, the old woman. Her hair was thin, what was left of it was silvery gray. She had little to no teeth and was hunched over, she was so skinny that she looked like nothing but bones.

"Belle! Belle! You! You!" she screamed at her incoherently.

"What?" Belle screamed back trying to get an answer.

"This is you! This is all you! You must stop this!" She continued to babble. "Leave the monster! Leave him! He's putting you in grave danger!"

"He's not a monster! He would never let me in danger! You're wrong!" Belle cried out desperately. She was so sick of seeing this ugly old woman.

Suddenly she ran to Belle putting her bony fingers on her arms and began shaking her. Yelling that she needed to get rid of the monster and screaming other incomprehensible desperation. Belle hated the feeling of her cold bony hands on her and began flailing around trying to get out of her grip.

"Belle! Belle!" the old woman faded into Rumpel.

Suddenly Belle became aware of her surroundings, it was Rumpel's hands on her. She was in her house, with Rumpel alone.

"Belle, it's ok," Rumpel said pulling her close to him. She burried her head into his bare chest clinging to him trying to breathe again, "what is it Belle?"

"What was I doing?" Belle asked still dazed.

"You were screaming and pushing me away," Rumpel said with slight hurt in his voice.

"What was I saying?" Belled asked not releasing from his grip. She loved the feeling of her skin on his. It was comforting.

"Nothing, just screaming. What's wrong?" Rumpled asked tipping her chip up to see his face.

"Just a nightmare," Belle mumbled tiredly, "the same damn dream over and over."

"Why didn't you tell me you were having nightmares?" Rumpel asked.

"They didn't seem important,but they're getting worse," Belle said rubbing her face, "did I ever do this before? Scream in my sleep?"

"Not exactically, I noticed from time to time you look discomforted so would just hold you. Sometimes you would say no over and over but nothing like this," Rumple said cupping her face trying to calm her, "What are your dreams about?"

"I don't really know. I don't understand them. Some old woman she keeps telling me..." Belle tried to find the words to explain.

"Telling you what?" Rumpel asks desperately.

"Telling me..." Belle tried, she was so tired, "Telling me that you... you're putting me in some kind of danger."

Belle could tell Rumpel was hurt by this. He would never admit this but Belle knew he was always insecure about loosing her.

"But I don't believe it," Belle tried to reassure, "I love you more than anything. I know you wouldn't ever...I just wish they would stop."

"I'm sorry Belle, I want to try to help you but even my magic can't manipulate dreams," Rumpel replied.

"Just hold me and let me try to fall back asleep," Belle said sleepily.

Rumple held her close and layed back down on the bed slowly. Belle kept her head on his chest, listening to his heart beat. It was the greatest sound she had ever heard, it lulled her to sleep. No more dreams flooded her that night.

Rumpel was not called to the castle for anything else important. He still attended to the castle every once in awhile to aid the town with whatever was needed. Snow began to fall a few weeks later. This officially drove the children indoors and kept people out of the streets. The snow layed quietly and remained untouched glistening in the lamps lining the streets.

Belle was working late one night at the library, returning all the books to their rightful shelves. Rumple knew that if she was not home by the time he returned she was at the library. The snow had stopped falling after a long day of it non stop. The snow seemed to have frozen the whole town, the streets were empty and it was silent as everyone had already turned in for the night.

Rumpel made his way to the library and let himself in locking the door behind him. The library itself was a grand place made mostly of wood. It had a staircase leading to the second floor, an area dedicated to children, and a fire place warming the whole library. He could hear Belle off in between one of the many shelves humming as she was putting away all the books. Rumpel followed the humming and found her with her back to him. He went up from behind her running his hands up her back to her neck, pulling her hair away.

"Your hands are freezing!" Belle exclaimed.

"Help me warm them up," Rumpel whispered to her, running his hand back down around her waist pulling her close. He attached to her now exposed neck kissing and nipping at her.

A small moan escaped her as he lightly bit at her neck. She placed the rest of the books randomly on the shelf, to hell with proper placement.

"I missed you," Rumpel whispered against her neck. He had been trapped in the castle longer than expected helping plan out the winter plans for rationing the food for everyone. It was dull work.

"I missed you too," Belle said turning around facing him. She wrapped her arms around his neck pulling him closer as Rumpel was surly determined to give Belle a love bite, "Do you really intend to mark me with the Christmas Ball so close?"

"It's not for another few weeks, and yes I do intend on marking you for just such occasion," Rumpel said giving her a mischievous grin.

"You wouldn't!" Belle cried hoping he wasn't serious, thinking of having a love bite just as everyone in the kingdom would see them together.

"I'll make you a deal dearie," Rumpel began.

"Oh no!" Belle knew better, all his recent deals with her always ended in him seducing her. She was at work, this was not the place for that, "I know how your deals with me are now a days."

She slipped out of his grip and headed towards the fire place which had tables here and there. A part of her was slapping herself with modesty another part was hoping that he would chase her.

"C'mon dearie," He said chasing after her, "aren't you the least bit curious of what I have to offer you?"

'Yes,' Belle thought to herself, "no."

She leaned against the table trying to put what she was really thinking out of her mind.

"I think you are Belle," Rumpel said getting behind her again holding onto her hips.

The feeling of him breathing down her neck and hearing him breathe her name made her quiver.

"Are you sure you're not the least bit curious?" Rumpel prompted her.

"Curiosity killed the cat," Belle pointed out.

"Good thing he's got nine lives," Rumpel said lifting her up onto the table.

"Rumpel! We can't! Not here!" Belle started to say but her body was screaming yes.

Rumpel layed her down onto the table and towered over her, "how bout you let me give you a love bite."

"And in return?" Belle asked in between breaths.

Rumple pulled up chair and was now sitting facing her, "you can mark up my back as you always do with your nails."

"But no one at the Christmas Ball will see the scratches on your back," Belle pointed out to him.

"No one is going to see this love bite I'm about to give you," He said with a wicked grin across his face.

Now Belle understood, she sat up and felt her face turn scarlet, "Rumple, we can't-"

"Shhh..." Rumple said pulling her face towards him into a kiss.

Belle could feel her body betraying her in anticipation and his skilful tongue embraced hers.

"Lay down..." Rumple whispered to her.

She did as he commanded and closed her eyes. With her , eyes closed she wouldn't have to think about being at the library and focus on the sensations.

Rumpel's hand traveled up under her skirt to pull it up. He started placing kisses on her knee moving upwards. He was moving agonizingly slow, she knew this was deliberate. Her body was building already and he hadn't even done much.

Rumpel noticed this, he loved the effect he had over her, it made him drunk. He could do this with her for all eternity and never get bored of it. He slowly moved forward peeling the dress along the way. The dress slipped off and he tossed it to the side. Next was her underwear which he quickly disposed of as well. He wrapped one arm around her leg pulling her closer. He could smell her scent already making his desire grow. With his other hand slowly began working on her womanhood. He dipped one finger in, she was always ready for him. He loved it, now time to really attack her.

Belle felt him place his tongue on her and it made her moan loudly and arch her back into him. She could feel his mouth just teasing her lightly and his finger buried deep in her. It made her whimper and squirm. Rumpel loved when she would squirm at him. It just made him pull her closer to him but only barely teased her with his tongue.

"Rumpel, please..." Belle whimpered wanting more than just a tease.

"Is this better?" Rumpel asked her now he really buried himself in her. He wrapped both his arms around her legs holding her close as he buried his tongue deep in her. He loved her taste, he would never get enough of it.

"Oh Rumpel...yes..." Belle whimpered. She moaned his name over and over, she kept arching her back into him as he pushed deeper into her. Tasting every part of her, savoring everything. Eventually Belle reached her climax, she gripped the edges of the table and called out Rumpel's name. Rumpel clung to her wanting to taste every bit of her.

As she spiraled down from the high and began to relax again, Rumpel backed away. His own mind was dizzy with lust but he wasn't through with her yet.

"Oh Belle," he sighed into her crawling onto the table with her and kissed her.

Belle could tastes herself on him and found it wildly erotic. she wanted more of him. Belle sat up a bit Fumbled with the strings of his pants and pulled him free. She gripped onto him finding him already hard and ready to go.

"Someone's eager," Belle giggled at him.

"I really missed you Belle," Rumpel confessed laying her back down joining her.

Belle wrapped her legs around him as he sunk deliciously slow into her. She always managed to fit perfectly to him, she was already sensitive from the last orgasm. She could tell it wouldn't take long for her to reach her release again, by Rumpel's breathing it wouldn't take him long either.

Rumpel began to slid in and out of her, it felt amazing to have her wrapped around her in every sense of the way. Her arms around her neck, her legs around his waist and her warm wet walls encased around him. He pushed on her faster and harder. The more effort he put into her, the more she would scratch her nails down his neck and back. Belle had learned a long time ago the harder she scratched the harder he would push her. Rumpel always loved the glorious sting he would feel the next day as he moved. Belle always liked to see the dips and curves of his muscles in his back along with her long scratch marks all over him. She always spent the first 10 minutes of the next morning kissing them, also another favorite of Rumpel's. As the two moaned and yelled each others names out in ecstasy, the each reached their climax.

Rumpel rested his foreheads on hers, breathing heavy. He was shaking as he tried to regain his composure from his climax. Belle underneath him could still smell herself on his breath, she loved it. Rumpel rolled over to lay down next to her, Belle rolled over slightly to place her head on his chest and let his hand slowly caress the soft skin on her back.

The two lovers layed in a comfortable silence together, regaining their breath and letting their bodies calm down. The once roaring fire was simmering down to a small glowing coals. The library was now dark and their perfect quiet little world layed just outside.

"Are you still having those nightmares?" Rumpel asked of Belle.

"Every once in awhile. They're always the same though, I just wish I knew what it was about," Belle confessed.

"I wish there was something more I could do for you," Rumpel replied.

"You already do more than you know," Belle said listening to his heart beating.


	3. Chapter 3

Belle woke up not feeling well at all. She felt nauseous and her head was pounding. It was early morning, Rumpel was at the wardrobe getting dressed. Belle jumped out of the bed and ran to the bathroom tossing the door closed behind her. She made it in time and ended up throwing up. She sat on the floor leaning on the wall for support.

"Belle? Are you sick?" Rumpel asked coming in. He got down on his knees in front of her cupping her face, "you don't look well."

"Thanks..." Belle said sarcastically.

"Do you still feel sick? Do you want some water?" Rumpel offered her.

Belle nodded, and Rumpel got up to go to the kitchen to fetch some water. Rumpel returned with a cup and handed it to her. Belle took it gratefully and began to drink. Once she was satisfied she sat the cup next to her.

"It must have been from our walk last night, when we went to the park," Rumpel determined. He and Belle wanted to enjoy the beauty winter had to offer and would often go walk about the town to see the snow, "I hope you're not getting sick, the ball is this weekend you were so looking forward to it."

"You could still go," Belle replied.

"Not without you dearie," Rumpel said.

"Why not?"

"In sickness and in health, remember?" Rumpel said to her helping her to her feet again, "How do you feel now?"

Just as quickly as she had woken up to it, it had passed. She felt fine again, her head was still a little heavy but the nausea had passed.

"I feel fine," Belle reported.

"Are you sure? We could just take the day off and rest today," Rumpel offered. He was supposed to go to the castle to help with last-minute things for the ball, Belle had work but they could both for go a days work.

"Perhaps we should," Belle replied, "my head still hurts a little."

"No matter," Rumpel said, he placed both his hands on her face. Belle could feel the magic he was using on her. It cleared her head and she felt good as new in that moment. Regardless, Rumpel made her a light breakfast that morning and the two spent the day lounging about the house. They cuddled together on the couch keeping each others company, she read her books and he sat at his wheel spinning.

Eventually night came to fall along with a light snow. Belle and Rumpel were upstairs getting ready for the Ball. Belle finished her make up and looked at the mirror at her final product. She was wearing a dark navy blue dress and a cloak to match with white fur on the edges. She just sighed.

Rumpel entered the bathroom and saw Belle in the mirror, "Oh Belle you look beautiful."

"I don't feel beautiful," Belle sighed.

"Why not?" Rumpel asked her turning her around and holding her comfortingly.

"I just...I dont," Belle started to try and explain but there was a knock on their front door. Their carriage to take them to the ball had arrived.

"Come, let's go see all of our friends, that will cheer you up," Rumpel said to her and kissed her forehead leading her down to the carriage.

Belle felt moody the whole ride, and she couldn't explain it. Belle had always tried to stay positive and look at what was good. She had plenty of practice in that, but now she was just moody and dark. She tried to hide it as best she could, she could also feel a small wave a nausea coming through her. She just figured that it was the nerves of going to the ball.

The castle was in full swing for the evening, it was casted with a blue light to make it glow and decorated with Christmas reefs and red ribbons. It was a perfect winter wonderland. The carriages were all lined up awaiting their turn to be unloaded with guests and move on. Once Belle and Rumple were in line, the jumped out and marveled at the sight of the castle.

"Shall we?" Rumpel asked holding out his arm for Belle to take.

Belle just smiled as she tried to repress her dark mood and took his arm as he escorted her inside. Normally it was the excitement that would build of seeing old friends and going to such a grand party but this time it was only the sickness that was building.

Baelfire, Emma, Snow, Charming, Henry and little Charlie were all at the main entrance greeting all the guests. They all looked beautiful in their winter attire. Henry was growing into a strapping young prince at the age of fifteen. Everyone greeted Rumpel and Belle with hugs and wishing them Merry Christmas and invited them into the ball room.

The royal family followed them in. Baelfire and Rumpel continued a conversation and Rumpel expressed how proud he was of his son, for the thousandth time, and Snow studied Belle's face as she kept it turned down to the floor.

"Is everything ok Belle? Did you and Rumpel have a fight?" Snow asked keeping her voice low. She could see a troubled woman from a mile away.

"No, he and I are fine. I'm just not feeling well, must be from all the winter cold," Belle said trying to be pleasant.

They entered the ball room and it looked perfectly beautiful. There were 6 thrones on the back wall, all for the royal family. There was even a tiny one that fit Charlie perfectly. Next to the thrones was an extensive Christmas tree decorated with all ornaments and gifts offered from the town and even some to the towns' people. There were red ribbons and glassy chandlers made to look like ice hanging from the high ceiling. This was a perfect winter party.

Snow took Belle's arm while Rumpel went to chat with the other men. Meanwhile Snow wasn't going to let Belle off that easily.

"So are you enjoying that party?" Snow asked

"We just got here," Belle said and immediately regretted it. She had no reason to have an attitude with Snow of all people.

Snow shook it off, "Are you sure you're ok? You look upset."

"I know, I'm sorry it's just-" Belle exclaimed, "I'm not really in a party mood tonight."

"But you look forward to the Christmas Ball every year," Snow said now eyeing her more suspiciously.

"I know, I don't understand it either. I'm just not myself tonight," Belle tried to explain.

"And things with you and Rumpel are well?" Snow asked.

"Yes, Rumpel's great. He's been hovering over me all day," Belle said rolling her eyes.

"Well then you need some girl time," Snow smiled confidently and took Belle's hand off the the rest of the nobel women.

It did feel good to be around someone other than Rumpel, like all couples they needed space from one another. Rumpel was with the other men all laughing and drinking, he loved being close to his son again.

"Oh hey," Baelfire said when he looked to the entrance, "There's King Midas."

The group of men looked towards the door, King Midas entered the party with a worried look on his face and had more knights around him then necessary. He must have thought there was still a weapon about.

Baelfire tried to wave him over to join the party but when he surveyed the group of men he indicated later. Baelfire and the rest of the men looked at one another confused.

"Does he think that if we had a weapon we would bring it here?" Charming asked.

"I don't know, but he looks kind of sacred," Grumpy pointed out.

"Yeah, well lets not spoil the party. Midas will be here for a few days and we all have an audience with him tomorrow," Baelfire said and broke away from the group.

The orchestra started to play upbeat party music and several couples began dancing. Rumpel looked around and spotted Belle with the rest of the woman still looking sullen. He strode over to her and offered her his hand to dance.

She gave a small sweet smile and followed with him. Soon enough everyone was out dancing, except Henry who was standing awkwardly next to another nobel girl of his age looking equally awkward.

"Feeling better?" Rumpel asked of Belle.

"Can everyone please stop asking me that?" Belle expressed, "No I'm- I'm sorry. I'm really just not feeling myself."

"Are you still feeling sick?" Rumpel asked.

"I wasn't before but now it's building again," Belle said.

"I don't have any tonic with me other wise I would give it to you. Do you want to sit down and rest a bit?" Rumpel offered.

"No I'll be ok," Belle said determined to be on her best behavior and try to join the party.

Belle was not ok. From all the spinning and moving around that the dance required it made her nausea grow worse and worse. Rumpel noticed that she was getting paler. Then it hit, Belle broke away from Rumpel and the rest of the dance floor and sprinted towards the ladies wash room. Rumpel wasn't allowed to follow her in there.

Luckily the wash room was mostly empty, she entered a stall and thew up again, only this time it was worse than before. She leaned on the stall and felt a sharp stab in her stomach, one that made her hunch over and whimper in pain. She felt something in her stomach moving which frightened her.

"Belle? Belle where are you?" It was Snow. Rumpel must have sent her in.

Belle had enough, she didn't want to be alone, "I'm in here."

She opened the stall door still supporting herself against the opposite wall of the stall.

"Belle, come here," Snow said helping her to a small nearby sofa. Snow held her hand placed her other on her back, "what happened?"

"I don't know," Belle finally admitted. She didn't mean to but she started to cry, "I just have been feeling sick all day and I'm moody and irritable for no reason."

Belle let the tears fall freely, but Snow just smiled. She recognized this before.

"It is fora reason Belle," Snow said warmly, "you're pregnant."

"What?" Belle said shocked.

"You're feeling sick and you emotions are all over the place," Snow replied, "It was how I was in the beginning with Emma and Charlie."

Belle could feel the shock building. She didn't know what to say...

"Do you want me to go get Doc? We can leave the party and go to a spare room here," Snow offered her.

"Ok..." Belle whispered.

Snow pulled her up lightly and lead her out of the wash room. Rumpel was standing at the door waiting for her.

"Belle what is going on with you?" Rumpel now demanded.

"Let's move this upstairs I'll go get Doc," Snow said trying to appease the tension. She directed Rumpel and Belle to a spare room away from the party.

Once in the room, Rumpel sat her on the bed and sat beside her, "What is it Belle? I know you know something."

Belle was no feeling scared, she had no idea how he would react, "Snow..."

Rumpel studied her trying to be patient and held her hand.

"Snow thinks..." Belle said. She wasn't even sure that she could say it to herself, "Snow thinks I'm with a child."

There was a silent tension that hung in the air. Rumpel had the same shocked expression that Belle had. Neither of them knew what to say.

"Are you sure?" Rumpel asked.

"No, Snows' getting Doc so he can come see me to be sure," Belle reassured, "are you mad?"

"No, no..." Rumpel said now standing, "It's just- I havn't been a father in a long time. The last time I was I failed him more than once."

"But look at him now! He's a king," said Belle.

At that moment the doors opened and Snow and her dwarf friend Doc came in.

"Hey Belle," Doc greeted warmly past his spectacles.

"Hey," Belle greeted now feeling insecure. She wasn't sure if she wanted to admit that she was pregnant and she knew that Doc would only confirm it.


	4. Chapter 4

It was happening, it was really happening. Even Rumpel confirmed it. Belle was pregnant with a baby. Rumpel's baby. Her baby. She placed her hand on her stomach. She felt a smile creep over. She began picturing her and Rumpel with their baby growing up together, playing together. It warmed Belle's heart, she was falling in love with a child that didn't fully exist yet.  
Rumpel wasn't as thrilled but he didn't tell Belle. On one hand he was worried about being a father again but there was something else. Something that Doc couldn't detect, only he could.  
He surveyed the new scene before him. Snow was thrilled hugging an shocked but excited Belle and Doc congratulated her. Rumpel didn't want to damper the excitement. Earlier he had placed his hand on Belle's stomach, to really see if he could detect another life growing in her, and he definitely felt it. A tiny beating heart, but there was something off about this heart. He could sense that it was full of darkness. The same darkness that plagued his heart when he became the dark one. Could the magic of the dark on be passed on? Rumpel had never heard of this happening because it never has before. That thing in Belle defiantly had magic and it was dark. Rumpel wasn't sure if he should be worrying about it just as he wasn't sure he should tell Belle.  
"But is it normal to be feeling sharp stabs of pain? And to feel it move?" Belle asked of Doc. Suddenly the excitement died down, and Rumpel who was off in the corner thinking was now snapped back to Belle.  
"What?" Snow asked her face getting darker, "you felt pain? You're not supposed to."  
"What kind of pain?" Doc asked now getting worried.  
"I'm not sure I felt it for only second, it was like I was being stabbed by something and then I felt it move," Belle explained. Seeing the darkening look in Snow and Doc's face now filled her with insecurity and fear.  
"You're baby is only the size of a raisin, you shouldn't feel it move," Doc said looking at her stomach, she was showing absolutely no signs of pregnancy.  
"You're not supposed to feel any pain either," Snow said confused, "Why would you-"  
"Because that thing in her has magic..." Rumpel said now seeing a ticking time bomb growing in his wife, "dark magic."  
Belle felt her heart jump to her throat. Dark magic... She didn't even consider that Rumpel could pass that on to her.  
From outside the door there was hustling and the door slammed open it was Baelfire, Emma and Charming. They all looked panicked.  
"What's going on?" Baelfire asked looking from his father to Belle.  
"She's pregnant," Snow said sitting close to Belle holding her.  
"That's it! That's got to be it!" Emma said looking towards Belle.  
"What's it?" Belle asked, she was beginning to panic but not for her sake.  
"King Midas, we spoke with him briefly but he doesn't want to talk to us, he left," Emma stated.  
"Why?" Snow asked.  
"Because of what the prophet told him," Baelfire continued, "they brought the prophet here to show her to us. Midas took us to her to talk to her. She said that a dark one was going to destroy everything. We thought it was Rumpelstiltskin that she was talking about...but it wasn't."  
"Then what is it?" Snow questioned.  
"It's that thing inside Belle," Rumpel stated growing darker, "I felt it. I can sense it, it has dark magic, that's why you were feeling pain Belle. It's using magic in you but it doesn't know how to use it or control it and it's heart. I can see it, it's dark... just like mine."  
"No it's not!" Snow proclaimed standing up, "it's just a baby! Babies aren't born evil."  
"Well to be fair this is Rumpelstiltskin's baby, no offense!" Charming began to explain, "Rumpel you have proven yourself to be a good man and I trust you with my life, but you can't deny who you are and I know you understand that, but that baby. What if you passed on your darkness to it and now it doesn't know how to control it?"  
"Then when it's born Rumpel can teach it! Rumpel and Belle can raise the baby to be good," Snow tried to defend.  
"There's a slight problem with that dearie," Rumpel began.  
"Actually there's two problems," Baelfire also added on. The room was now silent, Baelfire prompted his father to go first.  
"I can tell that that thing is using magic inside of her. It's only going to grow stronger, the stronger it gets the more power it will gain. A child in the womb takes energy from its mother to grow, but it's already stronger than Belle and unpredictable. The stronger it gets the more magic it will use and eventually it will kill her," Rumpel said darkly. He looked at Belle knowing that he would be willing to do anything to save her...anything.  
"Not if Camelot gets to her first..." Baelfire confessed, "King Midas saw Belle with Rumpel down stairs, that's why he wouldn't come near us. The prophet that they brought here, she said it was starting, that it wasn't Rumpel with the power it was his baby. Now that Camelot knows who Belle is, they're preparing to come after her."  
"Camelot is really going to come storming into out kingdom and kill a pregnant woman?" Snow asked horrified.  
"They're driven by fear! They think that Belle's baby is the anit-christ. Midas even said he's willing to do anything to stop Rumpel's kid," Emma said.  
A silent tension feel in the room with everyone. No one knew what to say.  
"So it's the kid or Camelot," Emma finally piped up, "one or the other is going to get to Belle."  
"Over my dead body," Rumpel stated. He went to Belle grabbing her arm and pulled her out of the room. He held onto obscenely tight rushing fast back to where all the carriages where. They took the empty hallways of the castle so they wouldn't run into anyone. They made it out to the court yard where all the carriages were kept and Belle heard a scream that she knew all to well.  
Off in the darkest corner with a single torch for light, was the prophet that King Midas had brought in a cage. It was the old woman from Belle's dreams, just as she had remembered.  
"You! You! You're in grave danger," the old woman said pointer to her stomach, "it's going to kill you."  
"No!" Belle screamed at her.  
"It's already written I can see it! Your child is going to burn everything to the ground just as it's father did in years past!" she stated.  
Rumpel grabbed Belle again and dragged her away from the old woman.  
"Rumpel! Rumpel wait!" Belle said breaking away from his grip.  
"Don't Belle! I'm not letting you do this! We need to get that thing out of you!" Rumpel yelled at her.  
"No it's a baby! It's our baby!" Belle tried to say to him.  
Rumpel went to her putting her hands on her shoulders holding her tightly, "No it's not! It's a monster like me! It will kill you Belle!"  
"No it won't!" Belle cried out.  
"Belle!" Rumpel screamed at her again this time throwing her a nearby carriage getting close to her face, "I can't let you do this! I'm not going to lose you again..."  
"You don't have to," Belle said with tears streaming down her face.  
"You don't know that," Rumpel said with tears threatening to fall from him as well, "I've seen what this magic can do. Especially in the hands of someone that doesn't know how to use it...Belle, I can't lose you. If I do I know I'll fall back into the monster that I know is inside of me."  
"You're not a monster Rumpel," Belle said placing a hand on his face, "even when I first met you I saw past all that. Just as I can see past what this baby is. It's more than that."  
"Regardless of what it is Belle, it's going to kill you," Rumpel said now letting the tears fall, "I won't let you."  
"No it won't. I can do this Rumpel," Belle tried to confide.  
"How do you know?" He asked.  
"Because I have faith in our baby...just like how I've always had faith in you Rumpel," Belle whispered.  
"Belle...I cant... I-" Rumpel tried to say.  
"Yes we can... I know we can," Belle stated.  
They returned to their carriage and began to head home in silence. Belle kept placing her hand over her stomach hoping to feel it. She wish Rumpel would say something, but he was at a loss of words. He was scared for Belle's life, that thing was going to kill her he was sure of that. They had also created new enemies, Camelot. He was sure that Camelot would spread the word about Belle. They had to get out of here.  
Their carriage came to a rough stop, Rumpel grabbed onto Belle to keep her from falling.  
"What was that?" Belle asked, she peered out the window. There was a large glowing coming from the streets.  
"Stay here," Rumpel stated and exited the carriage. His heart sank when he saw the scene before him.  
Their home was in flames, burning quickly. Someone had to have started the fire, many of the towns people were scrambling throwing buckets of water onto their house.  
Rumpel had a quicker solution, with a wave of his hands, using his magic he made the flames disappeared. The towns people rejoiced with joy and made way to praise him. However Rumpel's fears for Belle were only growing, he made his way past the towns people to the carriage and told the driver to take them back to the palace.  
"What is it?" Belle asked when he entered the carriage.  
"We can't go back to our house," Rumpel stated coldly.  
"Why?"  
"They know Belle," Rumpel said feeling the sorrow over whelmed him. He felt like his house wasn't the only thing burning to the ground. He told her that their house had been consumed by the fire.  
Belle's heart began to race. The other kingdoms, they really were out to get her. Despite the fact that she trusted Rumpel, he didn't care for the baby the same way she did. Who was going to protect the baby if Rumpel wouldn't?


	5. Chapter 5

Rumpel and Belle moved into the palace for their protection. Belle refused to let anyone get rid of the baby, including Rumpel. He now kept an extremely close eye over Belle at all times. He wasn't going to kill that thing inside of her...not until it started to kill Belle first.  
Rumpel could feel the hatred and anger consuming his heart again. All he thought about was that the thing inside of Belle that was going to kill her. It drove him mad thinking that he was going to lose her again. He couldn't let this happen.  
Just as Belle couldn't let anything happen to her baby. She could sense her body changing over time. There was a glimmer of hope in her, she had not felt any more pain in the past few weeks. Perhaps Rumpel was wrong, maybe it was just a quip of pain. Maybe her baby wasn't magic. Belle kept trying to warm Rumpel up to the idea of a child, but he was not having any of it.  
Baelfire and Emma sent word to all the other kingdoms that Rumpel had indeed eliminated the child within his wife out of fear of it being magic. The kingdoms seemed to buy it and believe it for the time being. Everyone knew that the bigger the Belle got she couldn't be seen by anyone for fear that word would spread. For now the peace had resumed.  
"What do you think of William?" Belle asked. Her and Rumpel were strolling about the castle trying to stay calm.  
"How about lucifer?" Rumpel threw back at her leaning against the window looking out to the sea.  
"Rumpel please..." Belle begged.  
"I don't understand how you can let this happen," Rumpel said not looking towards her.  
"Because I believe in this baby," Belle said trying to remain calm with her Rumpel. He was scared she understood, "the same way I believed in you."  
"But I understand how to use the magic, that thing doesn't," Rumpel continued.  
"Then you can teach it," Belle pointed out.  
"Not if it kills you first," Rumpel quietly growled.  
"But you will still have our child," said Belle.  
"No..." Rumpel said getting colder, "if that thing kills you Belle, I won't have anything to do with it."  
"But Rumpel..." Belle said her voice quivering and her eyes watering, "you can't possibly..."  
Rumpel didn't answer her, he just couldn't.  
Belle walked away from him with tears streaming down her face.  
He wanted more than anything to follow her,but he had no words of comfort for her. He wanted more than anything to save her, to just have things go back to the way it was between them. What ever happened to Belle he knew that it would be his fault. Her father was right...Belle was better off with out him all along.  
She couldn't believe him. She had faith in him, why couldn't he have faith in himself? She went into a quiet little empty room. It was in the more lonely part of the castle. She placed her hand on her slightly protruding stomach, but nothing was noticeable yet.  
"I'm sorry...you're daddy will come around," Belle said speaking to her stomach, "I promise."  
In that moment, it happened again. She felt something in her squirming as if spinning in circle. Suddenly it hit her, her insides were burning as if she were on fire. She cried out in pain and doubled over. She cried out for Rumpel but he didnt come, he must have left this part of the castle.  
Belle tried to stand to go get help but it was starting again, but instead of fire it felt as if her insides were being ripped as if the baby was trying to get out. Now she fell to the ground again calling out for help. A maid that happened to be walking by one hallway apart heard her and came running to her side.  
Elsewhere in the castle Rumpel had wandered out in the court yard where Charming was practicing his swordsman ship with Henry. Even Little Charlie was off to the side watching swinging a small wooden sword around.  
"Hey Rumpel," Charming greeted, "take a break Henry get some water."  
Henry obliged and went to a near by fountain and began playing with Charlie.  
"Everything ok?" Charming asked also drinking from his chalice.  
"Yes," Rumpel tried to speak, "just... scared."  
"Of being a father or the magic your baby possess?" Charming asked.  
"Both," Rumpel confessed.  
"Well, I'm sure that everything will be ok. I also think that you will be a great father and mentor to your child," Charming admitted.  
"How can you be so sure?" Rumpel asked.  
"Well look at you," Charming examined, "you were the dark one but you found your happiness and you found your way to all of us. If anyone can make that child understand the true consequences that magic wields it's you."  
Rumpel began to ponder that thought but then a maid of the castle came scurrying towards them.  
"Your majesty! It's Belle! She's hurt-" the maid frantically began but Rumpel didn't waste any time.  
He disappeared and reappeared in the hallway that him and Belle were walking in before.  
"Belle!" He called out desperately.  
"Rumpel! I'm in here!" she called.  
Rumpel followed her cries into a small dark room. She was laying on the floor clutching her stomach.  
"Belle! What is it? What does it feel like?" He asked examining her closely.  
"Fire, and like it's ripping through me," Belle gasped in between breaths, "and it won't stop moving."  
Rumpel placed his hand on her stomach and used his magic to try to calm the little life in Belle, and it worked. The pain started to subdue but Belle was still trying to calm down. Rumpel knew however that the spell he used to calm the thing in her wouldn't work forever.  
"Oh Rumpel," Belle said wrapping her arms around him. He returned her embrace.  
Rumpel and Charming helped get Belle to bed but after a few minutes had passed she felt fine but Rumpel insisted that she rest in bed for the day. Once Snow had gotten word that Belle had collapsed she came rushing to Belle's side.  
"What did you do? To make the pain stop?" Charming asked Rumpel.  
"It's just a soothing spell," Rumpel explained.  
"Could you use that spell up until she gives birth?" Snow asked sitting next to Belle.  
"Not exactly, the spell will calm the thing inside of her for now but the more that it uses magic the more it can over come the spell. It's only a temporary thing, it won't last," Rumpel explained.  
"I think we need to start planning what to do with Belle, when she goes into labor," Charming stated, "or at least what we should do if this happens to Belle again."  
"There's nothing we can do," Rumpel said looking towards Belle's stomach darkly, "there's only one thing I could do."  
"No!" Belle cried out clutching her stomach. She knew that Rumpel was talking about getting rid of the baby. He had begged her to let him do a spell to eliminate the life within her but she refused.  
"There has to be another way," Charming said confidently, "there's always a way."  
"That's when it was between you and Snow," Rumpel replied, "none of you children had evil in their blood."  
"You know this baby is half mine as well, maybe this baby won't take after you as much as we think," Belle said.  
"Part of me is still in there," Rumpel replied.  
"Then that part of it has the potential to be good," Belle said.  
"If the baby is good then why does it keep hurting Belle?" Snow asked with a pained voice.  
"Because it doesn't know how to use the magic," Rumpel explained.  
"Then you can't be angry with him, he doesn't understand," said Belle.  
"It's... it's a boy...?" Rumpel asked. This was the first time that Belle had heard Rumpel refer to the baby as an actual baby.  
"I'm not positive," Belle said rubbing her stomach, "I have a feeling it will be."  
"That's wonderful Belle," Snow said glowing, even Charming mustered a smile.  
A son. That just made Rumpel even more nervous, he could see a son more easily destroy the world over a girl.  
"Rumpel please you need to have a faith. You had faith to come after me when Hook kidnapped me, you had faith that I could love you, that's why you asked me to marry you. Now I need you to have some faith in me," Belle said walking towards him, she grabbed his hand and put it on her stomach, "feel this. Does this feel evil to you? Because it doesn't to me."  
Rumpel felt it, but Belle was only half right. He could feel the warm glow in his heart tingle, it was the same warmth that Rumpel felt whenever he was near Belle. However he could also feel it's tiny little heart beat, but the heart was dark. Belle couldn't sense the dark heart like he could.  
Rumpel tried his hardest to believe in the baby, he did feel a warm tingle in her heart. But the months following made it difficult. The warm glow grew but so did it's heart and it's power. With no understanding of how to use that power the baby continued to use it's magic on Belle's body. She frequently collapsed, the more pregnant she got the more fits she would have. Fire, ripping, stabbing, breaking all sorts of pain flooded her. The power that the baby was using was draining the energy out of Belle. She some days found it difficult to get out of bed in the morning with no energy to move, to eat, to sleep. Belle's Body was deteriorating, her hair was fading in color, she was loosing weight dangerously fast despite her growing belly, and the life in her eyes were slowly fading.  
Her screams of pain only encouraged Rumpel's desire to kill the baby. He could use his spells to alleviate the pain but he only used small spells and it was only so long before another fit came. Rumpel also knew that all magic came at a price, he could sense what was happening. The reason behind using only small spells on Belle was that the baby was absorbing the magic Rumpel used into it's own tiny body. Rumpel didn't know how to stop that.  
He hated the child, he wanted it to stop hurting Belle. This child was going to be the death of her, he could see that. All he could picture was his dead wife and a demon child left over. He could see himself slipping back into what he used to be, a monster. The kingdoms would all turn on each other when they discovered the truth. Rumpel could see his world once again being swallowed into fire, blood and wars... and he would be alone again. He was being driven by his fears.


	6. Chapter 6

The kingdom didn't see much sunshine as fall approached. It was a long, dark, rainy month. If it wasn't raining it was alway covered with dark clouds. It never seemed to fade.

She could do this, Belle believed it. No matter how much pain she was put through she honestly believed that she would make it. It was the eight month of her pregnancy, she just had to stick it out one more month. Belle had always been delicate, like a flower. She looked at this pregnancy as a chance to gain a child and become a stronger woman. Snow, Charming and Rumpel they have always been strong for Belle, now it was her turn. Despite the pain the child put her through, Belle grew to love her and Rumpel's baby more and more. She could still picture her, Rumpel and her baby all growing together.

Belle was laying in her bed tossing and turning. She spent most of her days in bed watching the rain fall and sleeping but now she was wide awake and bored. She felt like she wanted to get up and walk around but every time she did the child would use magic again. Furthermore Rumpel and Snow wouldn't allow it, anytime she tried they would rush her back to bed. She wasn't comfortable and now her stomach had tripled in size, she was tired of being pregnant. She was ready for her baby, even if Rumpel wasn't

Elsewhere in the castle Rumpel, Baelfire, Emma, Charming, Snow and many others were at a meeting again trying to come up with a plan for Rumpel and Belle. It wouldn't remain a secret for long to other kingdoms that Rumpel's child was born. Baelfire was planning a defense strategy for when they were attacked. They were beginning an entire war strategy, most of which included using Rumpel's magic to deffend themselves.

To Rumpel there was nothing that could be done, no amount of planning was going to save Belle. He didn't even care that the neighboring kingdoms were on their way, he could see it. The war was inevitable, he was only concerned that he was going to lose the one thing that meant more to him than anything in the world. The only thing that the council had right was that he was defiantly going to be using him magic to defend them, he was going to do alot more than that actually. With Belle gone, the only thing that Rumpel would want would be to watch is the world burn at his hands.

"We just need to cover up Belle and Rumpel's child. Keep them here in the palace, while Rumpel teaches the baby to control it's powers," Snow suggested.

"And keep the child locked here in the palace forever?" Charming pointed out the flaws.

"As long as no one on the outside knows we will be fine," Snow confided.

"There's one problem, a problem that would backfire on us," Emma began, "if the kid is found, and the other countries realize that we've been lying and that theres a kid here with magic they'll come at us with everything they've got."

"So we don't get caught," Snow reassured.

"Emma's right though, if we do get caught it'll mean hell for all," Charming agreed.

"We just need to prove it to them," Snow stated, "Me and Belle both believe that this baby isn't evil. If we can convince everyone else then there isn't a problem."

"So then we only need to hide the kid for a few years until it learns how to use it's magic the right way," Emma said, she then turned to Rumpel, "how long do you think it will take for you to teach your kid to control it's magic?"

"I have no intention of helping that thing it's going to kill her," Rumpel said darkly.

"Rumpel it is your child-" Charming began to try to explain.

"Father, you can do this," Baelfire said coming to Rumpel side, "I know you and I haven't had much time together but I know how much family means to you. That child in Belle, it's your family."

"And that thing is going to kill the family I already have. What if this thing does turn out evil? What if it does destroy the world? If it does I'd expect that you would want me to kill it before it kills the world, so then I'd lose Belle, my home and the only living part of Belle," Rumpel stated clearly.

"If you can find your way to good then I'm sure that your child can too. Beside's Belle's right, the child is only have yours. It's half Belle too," Snow explained.

At that moment Henry came storming into the council room.

"Henry, you know you can't be in here right now," Emma stated.

"I know but there's something wrong," Henry stated, "it's Anthony."

"Who?" Emma asked.

"Anthony he was a knight in Lancelot's brigade," Henry explained.

"What about him?" Charming asked.

"He's gone," Henry reported.

"Gone where?" Emma asked.

"We don't know, no one has seen him anywhere in the last week," Henry explained.

"Well maybe he's just in the forest or somewhere else in the kingdom," Emma replied.

"He's not I'm pretty sure I know where he went," Henry said desperately.

"Where?" Emma asked.

"Camelot," Henry said, everyone went silent, "He moved here to our kingdom almost two years ago. He's still loyal to Camelot, he always said that Camelot was his home...I think he went back."

"But he's been working here inside the palace guarding all off us since he got here," Snow said slowly connecting the pieces.

"Which means he knows about Belle," Emma said stating the final piece.

"He's going to tell Camelot," said Charming.

"So we fight," Baelfire stated, "We'll defend ourselves and we'll defend Belle."

"This will just lead us to death and war," Rumpel stated bluntly.

"Father, you need to be with Belle. I know you're strong, and now you need to be strong for her. I know you can do this, we all believe in you," Baelfire said boldly.

Rumpel silently agreed. He figured there wasn't much time left, and right now he only wanted to do one thing. So he got up and left the council room and made way to where Belle was. He stopped outside her room, tried to put out all his dark angry thoughts that matched the growing storm outside and entered the room.

Belle was laying on the bed covered by the blanket. Rumpel could see the small sparkle in her eye when he was her. Despite that, she looked weary, tired. She had dark circles under her eyes, her hair was a mess and she had lost much weight in her face. despite all this, Rumpel still saw her as the most beautiful woman he ever knew.

"Hey," she said with a gravely voice.

"Hey," he whispered back to her and went over to her. He walked over to the other side of the bed, crawled in and scooted over to Belle. She turned over and faced him, Rumpel wrapped his arms around her waist holding her close...at least as close as he could. Her belly kept him from getting closer than he wished.

"I feel like there's something between us," Rumpel joked with her.

It made Belle giggle, he loved hearing that sound. It seems like he hasn't heard it in a long time. In that moment a strike of lightening light up the sky but only for a second. It made Belle jump, she hated thunderstorms. She also groaned and tried to readjust to become more comfortable.

"Something wrong...well besides the obvious," Rumpel asked.

"My back is sore from being in bed all day," Belle groaned.

"Let me help," Rumpel offered helping her sit up. The blanket fell past her stomach, when Rumpel saw the stomach he felt his anger blaze. Belle noticed this and pulled the blanket back over her stomach.

With Belle sitting up Rumpel tried to swallow it's anger and began to rub her back to help ease the pain, "Do you remember the first time we met dearie?"

"Yeah, it was at my old home," Belle said smiling, her voice was quiet and weak, "it was when my old home was plagued with ogres and my father was asking for your help. You knew even when I first met you, I felt there was something about you."

"Something like what?" Rumpel asked.

"I'm not sure...like you were lonely. Like you were looking for companionship," Belle said, "I felt sorry for you."

"Is that why you agreed to come with me?" Rumpel asked continuing on her back.

"Not entirely, I wanted to help my people as well," Belle explained.

"You know dearie," Rumpel said thinking back to sweet memories, "that wasn't the first time I saw you."

"It wasn't?" Belle asked.

"No," Rumpel said feeling his heart glow, he had never told anyone this story, "I remember the first time I saw you. I was in your town making a deal with a mermaid, but I stayed in the town trying to find a place to stay. Then I passed by the library and saw you sitting there, you had a stack a mile high of books you were reading. You were reading a story about a bean stalk and giants. I never forgot you after I first saw you. You still had a baby face and I saw the way your golden brown curls fell down you and the way your eyes darted back and forth reading that book. I wasn't in love with you...not yet. But there was something about you."

Belle could feel herself blushing past her dull skin. She remembered every detail of what he was saying.

"As the years passed I often came back to your town to see you," Rumpel continued, "I saw you through your birthdays, the nights you cried yourself to sleep when you missed your mother, even the first time you met that brute Gaston. He was criticizing you for reading, talking about how it wasn't right for a woman to be reading. Almost made me want to cut the brute down right then and there."

"Did you ever come after that?" Belle questioned, Rumpel rubbing her back defiantly was helping.

"No..." Rumpel said and pulled her hair back so her neck was exposed.

Belle could feel his breath on her skin and it made her quiver.

"I stopped after your father had arranged a marriage between the two of you" Rumpel went on, "I thought that you would go on to have a good life. Then I received word that your town was being invaded my ogres and your father requested my help. Even when I first met you I can't say I loved you...but I always had a fascination with you. Perhaps it was just a part of me deep down that could sense the fate to come."

"I know what you mean by the sense of fate Rumpel," Belle said turning to face him, "I can feel it to...only it's about someone else." She placed her hand on her stomach.

"Belle," Rumpel whispered placing his forehead on hers, "I love you so much. This baby is killing you and I can't bear the idea of living in a world with out you. If I do I know I'll be alone again and I'll just go back to what I used to be. I don't want to lose you again."

Belle leaned forward and placed her lips on his. They hadn't been very physical since they found out about the pregnancy and the worse things got with Belle the farther her and Rumpel had drifted. The kiss still had the effect the first one did over the both of them, they both felt the warmth in their hearts. Belle wrapped her arms around Rumpel and buried her face into Rumpel's neck. She missed this, she missed being close to him. She could feel the warmth from his hug and hear the heart beat in his neck. She wished they they could just stay in this embrace forever.

* * *

Elsewhere in the Castle, young Henry was patrolling the hallways. Or perhaps not so young. He was growing into a young man. He was going to turn 16 in a mere few months. He had grown taller and shed his baby weight in return for muscle. His face still had the appearance of a child. His father Baelfire, and Charming had been training him in many things. Such as riding horses and how to use a sword. He was eager to be a hero, but Charming often warned him about going to look for trouble. Still he wanted to prove to others that he could be a hero but he wasn't allowed to any council meetings or any of the knights training. He wasn't old enough for that yet.

The other's were guarding the castle, patrolling the hallways just as he was. He had just told everyone about Anthony, a rouge knight who left. He knew Anthony, he always talked about how much he loved Camelot but about how he came to this kingdom because of a job offer. He was positive that was where he left to, that's where his true loyalties lied.

Most of the castle's windows and doors had been tightly closed to ward off the storm, it was growing and lightning and thunder rolled over the kingdom. But even pass all the booming thunder Henry heard it, a bang. A band of a wooden door against the stone walls.

Henry followed the source of the sound, he rounded the corner of the hallway pulling out his sword. There we was standing at the doorway, Anthony. He was only 3 years older than Henry and had completed one year of his knights training. His face was like Henry's, on the verge of being a man but still looked like a child.

"What are you doing here?" Henry asked.

"Saving you Henry," Anthony admitted. He had his sword at her hip but he didn't wield it.

"Saving me from what?" Henry asked keeping his sword raised.

"From the prophecy of course," Anthony admitted, "Rumpelstiltskin's baby is going to kill us all."

"No it isn't, Rumpelstiltskin used to be evil but now he's one of us," Henry explained, "that mean the baby can be good too."

"You haven't heard the details of the prophecy have you?" Anthony asked pulling his sword out but not raising it, "Rumpelstiltskin and his wife aren't in it. The baby kills it's mother during the birth. Rumpelstiltskin looses his mind at the sight of his dead wife and goes back to the monster he was. This baby is going to be the death of all of us."

"No it's not, a prophecy can be re-written, Rumpelstiltskin's was," replied Henry.

"I'm doing this for your own good Henry," Anthony stated and swung his sword at him.

* * *

Belle still had her arms wrapped around Rumpel. She had lost track of how long they were sitting there, but she didn't care. Rumpel tried to commit every second of this moment to his memory, not knowing how much longer he would have. He held onto Belle as if his life depended on it.

A loud quick crack of thunder seemed to rattle the castle and in that moment instantaneously, a sharp cramp ran up all through Belle's body. She gasped loudly and gripped onto Rumpel out of pain.

"Belle!?" Rumpel asked quickly panicking.

Bell threw her head back screaming, her stomach continued to cramp that made her whole body ach. This wasn't like any of the pain she felt before. Snow had explained what this would feel like, it had to be a contraction. Being that her child was magic Rumpel said that her labor pains were going to be intensified. But she was only at 8 months. It was to early.

"No! No! Belle just hold on. Just try to breathe!" Rumpel yelled holding her hand. It was to early for this. He wasn't ready to loose his Belle. Not Yet, not ever.

"Belle hold on, you need to try to calm down," Rumpel tried to sooth her hoping that this wasn't her real labor. Perhaps he could delay it.

Belle could feel her body betraying her. The baby was defiantly coming, it was coming all too quickly.

"Rumpel!" she yelled out in between the pain, "we have to do this now."

"No! No! Belle you can't leave me! You can't! I can't do this without you!" Rumpel said holding onto her.

Belle could feel it, maybe it was her mothers intuition she felt like she was close to needing to push. The pain this time was more unbearable than any of the pain she had felt throughout her pregnancy. She wanted to ask Rumpel to use his magic on her to alleviate the pain but she couldn't find the words to say it. All she could do was scream through the pain.

Once her contraction was over, she still felt the pain but she found the energy to speak, "Rumpel! Rumpel, you need to help me get this baby out. The sooner it's out the sooner it's over!"

"Belle you won't make it!" Rumpel yelled back to her with tears now streaming down his face.

"Yes I will! I know I can but the baby! The baby wont! Please! Please Rumpel do this for me," Belle begged of him.

Rumpel found what ever last bit of faith he had in himself to try to save Belle...not the baby. Belle did have a point, the sooner it was out the sooner it was done. He decided to use all of his magic to try and use his magic to save Belle. He knew that the magic he would have to use would come at a price but he was ready to pay anything, even his life for hers.

"Ok..." Rumpel whispered with more tears escaping him. Either way he was going to loose his Belle, either by his death or hers. It wasn't hard to pick on though, "ok... I love you Belle."

Belle started to say the same but when she opened her mouth it was just another scream, another contraction.


	7. Chapter 7

Rumpelstiltskin expected a demon. He expected that it would be like what he once was. With dark scaly skin and dark eyes. He expected something that was just as dark as what he was. He expected dark magic to start expanding and to start harming everything and everyone in it's path. All Rumpel could do was stare.  
It wasn't what he expected...she wasn't what he expected.  
She was tiny. Fragile. She had little hair on her tiny head that resembled her mothers. Her face, her tiny little face. It wasn't entirely Belle but it wasn't entirely Rumpelstiltskin either. She was screaming, her little wails filled Rumpel's ears. She looked so defenseless, so needing. Rumpel wrapped his arms around her. To try to keep her warm... that was when she opened her eyes. Opened her eyes to look up at her father.  
Her eyes. They were like his. Like Rumpelstiltskin's, they glowed a deep amber color. Rumpel could see the magic coursing through her through her eyes. They glowed brilliantly just like her mothers but in bright amber. When she opened her eyes and looked up at Rumpel, he saw it. He saw what everyone was talking about, only he saw more than what everyone was talking about.  
It was the prophecy that everyone was so scared of. He saw that it was true, it was like he was really there. From where he was standing he could see the whole kingdom. The world really was burning, the sky's were filled with smoke and fire. Baelfire and Emma's castle, it had crumbled and fallen. The field before them was filled with a mass amount of dead bodies. Including Henry's, Baelfire's, and Charming's The whole town was ablaze, and off standing a few feet away from Rumpel was her. A grown woman with dark curls like Belle's but glowing amber eyes like Rumpel's standing back watching the whole town burn. She turned to look at Rumpel, she was different. Her skin was dark, just like what Rumpel's used to be. Her heart was dark just like what Rumpel's used to be. When their eyes connected the scene changed before Rumpel  
The fires, the smoke all faded away. It was something else. They were standing in the court yard at Baelfire and Emma's castle. It was winter, the castle was beautifully covered. Rumpel didn't recognize anyone standing around the courtyard. But the closer he looked the more he did. There were two grown boys sword fighting, practicing. When Rumpel closer examined, he noticed the older looking one...Henry. The other younger boy with golden hair must be Charlie. Off to the side was a grown woman...her. The girl with perfect brown curls and glowing amber eyes, except her skin was perfectly soft and beautiful. Rumpel could feel it, her heart resembled his. There was a darkness but there was also a goodness in her too. When the woman looked up and connected eyes with Rumpel's she smiled and Rumpel felt the same warm glow in his heart...the one Belle always gave her.  
Rumple came out out of his daze. He was holding his baby girl in his arms, looking up at him. She had stopped crying. It warmed her heart to see her looking at him in that way. A way that asked for love, asked for protection...that asked for food.  
"Hey..." Rumpel whispered to her, "it's ok. I'm here...daddy's here."  
The small squirming baby in his arms tilted her head up, as if knowing what was there.  
Belle.  
Her eyes were closed. she wasn't moving...  
Rumpel could feel his heart breaking and swelling all at once. Was that even possible?  
"That's her..." Rumpel whispered to the small life in her arms, "that's your mother."  
Rumpel slowly scooted up towards Belle. She still didn't move.  
Carefully, Rumpled extended his arms out to the lifeless body, "here she is Belle. Here's our baby...it's a girl."  
The baby girl, almost as if she knew what to do, extended her small arms over her head towards her mother. Rumpel carefully placed the baby on Belle.  
The baby girl's eyes glowed again more brilliantly and then Rumpel felt it. The baby was using it's magic again. When the baby made contact with Belle's skin, she casted a spell...a love spell.  
Slowly Rumpel heard Belle breath in, taking a breath. Slowly Belle opened her eyes. Her vision was blurry but once it came into focus she comprehended what was going on.  
"Hey.." she whispered so low that it could hardly be heard.  
"Belle..." Rumpel whispered just as quietly, "she's here...it's a girl."  
Belle found the strength to lift her arms and wrap it around her daughter.  
Rumpel couldn't believe this. The baby, his daughter saved Belle. How could she? Even Rumpel couldn't do that. What more, he had Belle...and now a baby girl with Belle.  
"It stopped raining," Belle whispered looking towards the window, "I was wrong."  
"Wrong about what Belle?" Rumpel asked.  
"It's a girl..." Belle replied, "I thought it would be a boy."  
"Oh Belle," Rumpel sighed and wrapped his arms around his new family.  
There was a creak at the door. Instantly Rumple's mind went to what Henry had been talking about earlier. He tossed the blanket over Belle and his mind automatically made him think it was danger, he spun around ready to throw his magic at whoever had entered the room. He was about to but quickly stopped when he saw it was Henry...Henry covered in blood and with a gash in his arm.  
"Henry," Rumpel said going to him and gripped his arm. This a wave of his hand, Rumpel healed the gash but the blood still stained his skin and his clothes, "what happened?"  
"It was Anthony," Henry explained, "he was on his way here to assassinate you. You and Belle. He told me more about the prophecy too."  
"We'll talk about that later, where is he?" Rumpel asked ready to defend his new family.  
"He's dead..." Henry said, "I killed him."  
"You did?" Rumpel said surprised. He never really thought that Henry had it in him.  
"Yeah," Henry sighed, "I wasn't going to let him destroy our family."  
"Thank you Henry..." Rumpel expressed, "you're going to make a great prince and a great knight."  
Rumpel wrapped his arm around Henry. Around his grandson.  
"So how is the family?" Henry asked.  
"Would you like to meet her?" Rumpel smiled.  
Belle could slowly feel her body regaining strength. It seemed as though every touch from her daughter made her stronger. She was beautiful, so beautiful. It was really happening, her and Rumpel were going to have a family together.  
Henry came over to her bedside, "how you feeling?"  
"Better," Belle giggled, "much better. I hear that you saved us, that you saved all of us. Thank you."  
"You're welcome," Henry smiled warmly and looked down at the little life in Belle's arms.  
"Do you want to hold her?" Belle offered.  
"I don't think so..." Henry said awkwardly, "I dont want to hurt her."  
"You won't silly," Belle said, "come here."  
Belle directed Henry to sit on the bed and how to adjust his arms and slowly slid the little girl into his arms. Rumpel took a seat next to him.  
"Hi," Henry said trying his hardest not to move, "welcome to the family."  
From out the door down the hall everyone heard a scream. It sounded like Snows'. Then the sound of several people running and eventually enter the room.  
It was Snow, Emma, Charming and Baelfire all wielding weapons.  
"Henry!" Emma said running towards Henry and stopped when she saw what he was holding, "who is that?"  
Rumpel looked to Belle and smiled.  
"I suppose we need to pick out a girl name instead," Belle confessed.  
"It's a girl..." Snow said over joyed coming to Belle's side, "congratulations Belle."  
"What happened?" Emma asked.  
Rumpel, Belle, and Henry relayed what had happened to everyone else. Henry told how he had managed to kill off Anthony.  
"He also said there was more to the prophecy, he told me about it," Henry explained, "He said that the old lady saw Anthony come into the castle he knocked out Rumpel but he was already holding the baby, and that Belle was already dead. They said that when Anthony tried to touch the baby that she hurt him a lot but he was still alive. The prophet said that Anthony wanted to kill the baby but he couldn't so he jumped out the window where there was a rescue party waiting for him. As for Rumpel, he said that he turned into the dark one again except how he used to be and when he realized that Belle was dead he left the kingdom, and no one ever saw him again."  
"We found others of Camelot's army outside the castle walls," Baelfire added, "they must be waiting for Anthony but we chased them away. They're on their way back to Camelot."  
"Was there anything else about the prophecy?" Charming asked.  
"No he didn't tell me anything else," Henry confessed.  
"I saw what happened with her," Rumpel added on, "except there were two different futures. They can't both exist."  
Rumpel explained the two visions to everyone else.  
"See? There is a chance, your daughter can be good...like you Rumpel," Snow said with the warmest smile.  
"What I don't understand is how Belle is alive," Emma pointed out.  
"When she touched me," Belle said as Henry handed the baby back to her, "when she touched me it was like... the same feeling I had when me and Rumpel got married. Then I came back."  
"She used a spell that was laced with love. I can't do that, I dont understand how she can..." Rumpel expressed.  
"That's because she's not entirely like you..." Snow said thinking, "Rumpel you were created because you killed the dark one before you. That's what gave you your power."  
"Yeah and...?" Rumpel asked not seeing her point.  
"She wasn't created out of evil," Snow observed, "she was born out of love. Maybe that's what could bring Belle back."  
"I hate to break this up but we need to get Belle and Rumpel out of here," Emma said.  
Everyone turned to look at Emma.  
"Anthony's rescue party. They never got Anthony back and they're on their way back to Camelot. Once they get there with out Anthony they'll know somethings wrong. They'll come after us," Emma explained quickly.  
She was right, they had to leave tonight. Rumpel helped Belle out of the bed. Her legs were still wobbly from just giving birth but she was getting stronger. Snow helped clean her up, while Charming and Baelfire started packing a carriage to get Rumpel and Snow out of the kingdom.  
The baby had fallen asleep once Belle wrapped her up in a blanket that Snow had created and held her close. Belle could not stop staring at her, she was so perfect. Once Belle was properly cleaned up, with Rumpel by her side they all went to the dark empty courtyard with all the carriages.  
"I have everything you'll need to last you a few days packed in the carriage," Charming said stepping towards everyone.  
"Thank you..." Rumpel said sincerely,"I owe you."  
"No, we're a family. This is what we do for each other," Charming promised.  
"Where will you go?" Snow asked holding the baby. She had to hold the baby at least one time before they left.  
"Back to my castle. It's far away from all the kingdoms, that's why I put it there. I'll put enchantments around it like what I did in Storybrook so no one will ever find us," Rumpel confided.  
"How will we find out way to you?" Baelfire asked.  
Belle was wondering the same thing, she would miss everyone.  
"I think it's better that we stay away for now," Rumpel confessed, "I'll teach her. I'll teacher her what to do and when she's ready...we'll come back."  
"We will be together again," Baelfire promised.  
"I know we will..." Rumpel smiled, "I saw it happen."  
Everyone hugged each other one last time and said their good-byes. Rumpel enchanted the carriage to drive itself. No one can take them to Rumpel's castle. It was a journey that the new family had to take alone.  
Belle sat in the carriage as it rumbled along the path clutching her small blanketed daughter. Rumpel scooted closer to her and wrapped her arms around her.  
"I'm sorry for ever doubting you," Rumpel whispered to her.  
Belle looked over to Rumple and claimed his mouth. She kept her hold on the baby but kept at his mouth. She wanted him, she needed him. Just as much as he needed her.  
Holding onto tightly Rumpel held Belle and kissed her as if it was the last time he would ever be able to kiss her again. They could feel the love coursing through them, coursing through them and coming out in their daughter.  
"Belle..." Rumpel whispered to her stroking her hair, "we're a family."  
"And we'll always be a family," Belle stated.  
"We're missing a vital part of the family however dearie," Rumpel said.  
"What?" Belle asked.  
"Her name," Rumpel said looking down at her. She was still peacefully sleeping.  
"I don't know..." Belle said, "I was so sure it would be a boy."  
"Why don't we name her after you?" Rumpel offered.  
"No," Belle said, "I want her to have her own identity. I want her to be who she is."  
"She is apart of you, that's why she had the power to bring you back," Rumpel said.  
"How about Anna?" Belle offered looking to Rumpel, her eyes glowing again, "It was my mothers name."  
"I'll make you a deal," Rumpel began with a grin, "We compromise. Annabelle."  
"Annabelle..." Belle said with the name rolling off her tongue. She looked back down at her daughter, "Annabelle."  
"AnnaBelle..." Rumple said and kissed his daughter on her tiny forehead.

***Please Review:)***


	8. Chapter 8

"C'mon sweetheart, you can do it," Rumpel prompted holding out his arms.

It was a warm summer day with a breeze rolling through the mountains. They were deep in the valley of two neighboring mountains with the dark castle over looking them. Although the caslte was looking alot better. Rumpel never bothered to fix this part of the land when they returned because he and Belle were offered a new home in Baelfire and Emma's kingdom. Rumpel's castle had been mostly destroyed from years of neglect and from a few straglers that managed to escape Regina's curse that ransacked his castle. With a flick of Rumpel's hand the castle was restored to it's former glory. From the outside the castle couldn't be seen. Rumpel casted a protection spell to make it so that no one can see the castle.

Today, Belle and Rumpel were down in the valley with their ten month old daughter. The family had a picnic together in the valley and now Rumpel and Belle's little girl was almost ready to begin walking, Belle was holding both of her hands trying to make her stand and trying to get her to walk. Little Annabelle was wobbly and nervous to let go of her mother.

Rumpel however, holding her arms out to her, believed in her, "C'mon sweetheart."

Slowly Belle let Annabelle's hands, she took one small step forward and fell onto her hands and knees.

Annabelle was visually frustrated but Rumpel and Belle laughed because it was cute. Instead Rumpel scooped up Annabelle in his arms and lightly tossed her into the air and played with her.

Belle loved seeing Rumpel play with her. It warmed her heart in a way she didn't even think possible. All of Belle's fantasies of a family were coming true. Her, Rumpel and Annabelle sat down to meals together, spent time playing together, Belle spent nights curled up with her in her lap reading to her, Annabelle often played with the spinning wheel while Rumpel span and after the day was done, Belle and Rumpel would watch over their little girl as she slept holding onto each other dearly. It was almost perfect... it would be even better if the rest of the family were here.

Belle was nervous that Rumpel would be distant around Annabelle, but it only took a few months to already notice that Annabelle was daddy's little princess and Rumpel adored every second of it. Rumpel was never quiet as close to Baelfire when he was very young mostly because of tension between him and Mila. Belle could already sense a connection between Rumpel and Annabelle. Their bonds ran much deeper than she expected. It was a bond that Belle knew she would never have with her, magic.

Rumpel could sense the bond that he had with her, and he thrived on it. One magic can always sense another and he knew that Annabelle could feel it. Annabelle would often put her tiny little hand over Rumpel's heart and look at him with her big eyes. When she did Rumpel could see the magic flowing through her amber eyes. She understood what she and her father were. She knew that she shared a connection with him that ran deeper.

Annabelle was too young to begin learning her magic, she wouldn't be able to comprehend what Rumpel would say to her. That didn't stop her from using it, but it was all accidental and small. She would occasionally start a fire or move objects which Rumpel was always nearby to appease. He was just glad that she wasn't now using her magic inside Belle. Rumpel noticed something different in her however. Something that was far beyond her level of magic, she could restore things. The same way that she brought her mother back to life the day she was born she brought other things back to 'life' in a sense.

When winter had passed and the snow melted away much of the land was brown and dead after a long winter. When Belle and Rumpel placed her on the brown grass for the first time, it all instantly grew back and turned brilliantly green. The nearby garden which wielded no life suddenly bloomed with flowers and plants. This secretly worried Rumpel that Annabelle could potentially have the abilities to bring the dead back to life. He knew the repercussions of that would be horrible but he didn't need to worry about that yet. After all she couldn't even walk yet.

With a sleepy Annabelle wrapped around Rumpel he and Belle packed up their picnic and headed for their castle.

"I wonder if we've gotten another letter yet," Belle said.

"Perhaps, I sent one a week ago they should have replied by now," Rumpel responded.

They were referring a a dove that Rumpel had put a spell on, it was the only thing able to get in and out of the barrier that Rumpel created for the intention of sending letters back home and vise versa.

When the returned home, the dove was sitting on the table in the room Rumpel and Belle had spent plenty of time in. The windows were open to let the summer air in. The dove had a note attached to his leg.

Belle sat Annabelle near her toys near the window and she and Rumpel read over the note.

_Dear RBA, _

_Things are good at the home nest, no fights among the other nests. Looks like another bird is about to hatch. Hoping things are good at your nest. Miss you._

_Love, all of us._

Good, there was no fighting among the kingdoms and apparently their family was about to get an addition. Rumpel bet that it would be Snow and Charming.

Rumpel, Belle and Annabelle...or RBA as they went by in letters. The letters they sent back and forth had to be discreet. After the scandal broke out about Anthony dying at Baelfire's castle everyone was suspicious or paranoid about the demon child. Some believed the rumor that Baelfire and Emma spread about Rumpel killing the baby and that the he and Belle ran off together and some didn't. The other kingdoms often questioned about Rumpel and Belle running of together, Bae and Emma always just said they went out to travel the world together. Letters were intercepted and it was obvious that had been intervened so now Rumpel and Bae spoke in code. Anthony's death defiantly stirred up trouble for Bae and Emma but after a few months the peace returned with only a slight hint of paranoia among the kingdoms.

_Son, _

_Everything is well here. Baby bird is almost ready to learn to walk. She's not ready to learn how to fly, but she will one day. We're having a great summer, hope you are as well. Miss you too. _

_Love, RBA_

* * *

_Dear RBA, _

_Writting to let you know a new baby bird has arrived, a girl. she's doing great and so are mama and papa. reminds me of the day another baby bird arrived. However The nest is beginning to slip from the tree. the birds are all alright but were running low on sticks and twigs to support the nest. Still looking up. _

_Love, all of us. _

* * *

_Son, _

_I wish I could provide more for your nest. The nest here is lonely but full of love. Baby bird learned to walk and chirp. Now she never stops. Missing you terribly._

_Love, RBA_

* * *

_Dear RBA, _

_The nest is falling farther from the tree, a lack of sticks and twigs is damaging the nest. Two nests in another tree are brawling with one another. It's rather noisy for our nest to bear. Still we're surviving. H got a girlfriend, kinda funny to watch them together. They're both awkward, must have not inherited that from papa bird. _

_Love, all of us. _

* * *

_Son, _

_Baby bird reached her fourth birthday today. Looks like it may be time to start teaching her to fly. I'm worried to start teaching her, I don't want her to have a hard time learning to fly as I did. But the sooner she learns the better. I hope that the day we reunite our nests isn't to far off. How are the neighboring nests? _

_Love, RBA._

* * *

_Dear RBA, _

_We all have faith that baby bird will learn to fly just fine. If anyone is to teach her to fly it ought to be you. The sooner she learns the sooner you can all fly back to us. _

_The neighbor nests aren't doing well. It's the same fight as always, fights over nesting grounds and sticks and twigs. Trying to stay out of it, but we can't any longer. The neighbor nests offered us more sticks and twigs in return for help from the birds. We're sending small assistance for small amounts of sticks and twigs. Trying to get by the best we can. _

_Love, all of us. _

The neighboring kingdoms. They must have gone to war with one another. The boarders of Baelfire and Emma's kingdom aren't far off from the war then. Without Rumpel there to spin straw to gold the kingdom must be failing. Everyone in the kingdom had always lived a rather lavish life style because Rumpel provided and endless supply of gold and now that he was gone they were suffering from it. Rumpel wished he could send gold to them but if it were intercepted, it wouldn't be hard to recognize Rumpel's craftsmanship. They might be able to decode their letters as well if they connected two and two together.

In this chaos it often frustrated and stressed Rumpel out. He needed to be home to help his son, to help his family. The flip side of that was that they had their safe little slice of peace at his castle where his Belle and Annabelle were safe.

At this moment it was another winter come. The grounds were covered in snow, and little Annabelle, now not so little, was running away from her mother who was chasing her through the snow. Annabelle's high pitched giggles and squeals was what encouraged Rumpel to stay. He and Belle often discussed him leaving alone to go to their home to help but he couldn't bring himself to leave them.

In Rumpels' deep thoughts he felt a snowball connect with him on his chest pulling him out of his daze.

In front of him was his now four year old Annabelle. She had grown to an average height and had long brown curls like her mothers but her fathers glowing eyes. The winter air gave her snow white skin and rosy cheeks, she was beautiful. Especially when she laughed like she was now.

"That's not very nice sweetheart," Rumpel laughed not staying mad at her.

He was so focused on Annabelle that he didn't even see Belle make a snowball and threw it at Rumpel's face.

Belle giggled while Annabelle was in hysterics now.

"Oh you girls are gonna get it now," Rumpel said standing and using his magic to conjure up snowballs.

Annabelle squealed with joy and ran hiding behind her mother's cloak.

"Come Annabelle! Run!" Belle joked taking her hand while the two of them ran behind a tree while Rumpel used his magic to throw the snowballs making sure non of them actually hit them.

Belle didn't have quiet as much energy and her four year old and fell back into the snow on her back trying to catch her breath. Annabelle jumped up on top of her sitting on her stomach. She placed her hand on Belle's heart.

"You're not like me and papa are you mama?" Annabelle asked with curious eyes.

"Nope, I'm not," Belle confessed.

Rumpel came down and fell back into the snow next to Belle.

"Why isn't mama like us papa?" Annabelle asked.

"She doesn't have magic like us sweetheart," Rumpel tried to explain in a way that she would understand, "you were born with magic. "

"But mama wasn't," Annabelle said clarifying, "were you born with magic papa?"

This set an awkward silence between Rumpel and Belle. How were they going to explain this to her.

"Not exactically," Rumpel replied.

"How did you get your magic?" questioned Annabelle.

"Baby bird, why don't you go start heading towards the woods, grab you hiking shoes so you and papa can have another lesson," Belle piped in trying to change the subject.

"Ok!" Annabelle squealed. She was easy to distract, she crawled off her mother and headed towards the forest of the way where Rumpel began teaching her about magic.

Rumpel sat up conflicted, he hated that he had given her this life. As he watched her he was such a innocence and goodness in her, perhaps more than Rumpel ever had. He had truly cursed her in a life he never wanted for her.

Belle noticed that grimace on his face. She sat up and put her head on his shoulder, "she adores you, you know."

"That's because she doesn't really know me," Rumpel said back.

"She will one day but for now we need to take baby steps with her. Do you still want to tell her everything?" Belle asked.

Her and Rumpel often discussed how to go about teaching Annabelle her magic. Rumpel established that he was going to tell Annabelle the truth about how he became the way he is and how he got from there to here when she was ready to hear the story. He decided to tell her the truth because everything he's ever done has shaped him to be the way he is now. It all defines him, and Annabelle needed to understand that.

"I will one day, I just hope she won't look at me as a different man," Rumpel replied.

"She won't you're her father, she will always love you. You just need to teach her the right way and you will," Belle promised.

"I just don't know how to make her understand now she never stops asking questions," Rumpel replied.

"She's four Rumpel, it's in her nature to be curious. You don't need to giver her elaborate answers," Belle replied.

"I know, I just don't want her curious nature to make her fall off like I did more than once," Rumpel said.

"She will fall off, but the difference is is that you'll be there to catch her when she does," Belle pointed out, "Go, teach her. Tell her who she is and who she will be."

"Thank you Belle," Rumpel said staring deep into her blue eyes, "for everything."

Belle replied with a kiss and from off in the distance they heard a small "Ewwww."

"Oh you're getting one too sweetheart," Rumpel laughed and got up to chase Annabelle.


	9. Chapter 9

Annabelle skipped along the icy path to the forest humming as she went with her papa not far behind. She loved going into the forest she could sense the mysteries and magic that it held deep within it. Annabelle and her papa would come out here almost everyday and he would tell her about magic and how to start using it. Annabelle just liked spending time with her papa.

Rumpel trudged along into the forest and met up with Annabelle sitting on her usual rock looking towards him with eager eyes.

"What are we gonna do today papa?" Annabelle asked.

"First things first, what are the rules of magic?" Rumpel questioned her. He had been grilling this into her more than anything else.

"All magic comes with a price and a conse- conseqwen-... That thing you always say!" Annabelle struggled to say consequence. It was hard for Rumpel to take this seriously when she was this cute but he had to.

"Yes sweetheart it does, it's very important that you know that," Rumpel said kneeling next to her.

"Why?"

"Because with magic things can go wrong a lot. It's easy to make mistakes and those mistakes can cost you dearly," Rumpel explained.

"Did your mistakes cost you?" Annabelle asked.

"Yes it did...more than once," Rumpel replied glumly.

"How?"

"Well..." Rumpel said trying to pick a story appropriate for her, "you remember your older brother I always tell you about? Papa's other son Baelfire?"

"Yeah!" Annabelle said delighted. Rumpel and Belle often talked about their extended family back home to her.

"Well once, a long time ago I lost him," Rumpel said.

"Lost him? Like that time I got lost in the castle?" Annabelle asked.

"No sweetheart, it was bigger than that. He and I were separated for a long time because of my magic and it took a long time to find my way back to him," Rumpel explained.

"Oh..." Annabelle sighed.

"How would you feel if you and I were lost from each other for a long time?" Rumpel asked her.

"Sad..." Annabelle replied.

"Yeah, me too. That's why you need to be careful and think about the possible repercussions of what you do," Rumpel said.

"Whats repercussions?" Annabelle asked her mind already falling of the point of the lecture.

"It means what will happen after you use your magic, it won't always be a good thing," Rumpel smiled at her, "but there's one thing I do want you to understand. Me and mama love you more than anything else in the world, and we'll always be here to help you along the way."

"You never had some one to teach you magic right papa?" Annabelle asked.

"Nope, that's why I made a lot of mistakes, but I will always be here for you I promise," Rumpel swore.

"Ok, I love you papa," she smiled warmly and wrapped her arms around his neck.

* * *

Later that evening, Rumpel and Belle had tucked Annabelle into her room soundly and Rumpel and Belle were laying in their bed as the snow fell outside.

"So the other kingdoms are really at war with one another?" Belle asked him laying on his chest.

"Looks like it, Bae said he's trying to stay out of it but without me there to make gold their kingdom is suffering," Rumpel replied stroking Belle's hair.

"Do you ever think about going back?" Belle asked.

"Of course."

"Me too," Belle said now looking up at him, "perhaps we could now. Annabelle seems to be pretty calm and controlled."

"I know but she hasn't reached her full potential yet, I can tell. I'm just worried to take her back out in the open for the world to see," Rumpel replied.

"I know but I feel bad for her. I want her to be around other children, to meet the rest of our family," Belle said.

"I know, I do too," Rumpel said, "I'm just scared."

"It's ok, I am too but at least we'll be together and back to our real home," Belle tried to comfort.

"Yeah...and I can finally get out of these leather pants," Rumpel said, "I never realized how terribly uncomfortable they were until we got to Storybrooke."

Once they returned to the dark castle they didn't have much packed with them and Rumpel had to resort to wearing his old clothes that were still in his castle.

"You know," Belle said running her hands up his silk shirt and played with the hem, "I always liked your leather pants. Even way back when we were here alone."

Rumpel now had a devious smile and slowly flipped her over so he was on top of her, "Oh really dearie and whys that?"

Belle just giggled and felt her face turning red at remembering what she used to think when he wore his leather pants around her.

"Oh that's why..." Rumpel whispered seeing her reddening face. He leaned down and started lightly nipping at her neck.

She moaned lightly as he started at her neck. He slowly started to move down her neck to her chest and just as he started to slid his hand under her night gown...

"Papa what are you doing?" A little voice came from the door.

Rumpel quickly flipped over off of her while Belle tried to collect herself.

"Sweetheart, whats wrong?" Belle asked now feeling herself getting redder than she was before. Inside she was sighing with relief that she didn't act earlier when Rumpel returned to their room in his leather pants like she wanted to.

"I want the big bed!" Annabelle cried out with her stuffed bunny under her arm.

Rumpel and Belle had been trying to be firm with her about sleeping in her own bed but with an agreeing look from the two of them they couldn't turn their little princess down.

"Alright but just for tonight, tomorrow you stay in your own bed," Belle replied inviting her up on the big bed.

"I wanna sleep by papa," Annabelle said running to the bed.

"Uh...ok give me a second," Rumpel said as his hand slid under the blanket to adjust himself while Belle tried her hardest not to giggle.

Rumpel pulled Annabelle up on the bed placing her between him and Belle and pulled the covers over her. Within ten minutes Annabelle's eyes slid shut for good and Rumpel looked to Belle with disappointment.

"I know..." Belle whispered sharing the same look, "Snow told me all about this when she and Charming had Charlie. They couldn't have a moment alone together once Charlie was around. That's usually why she brought him to us to watch him."

"I'm gonna put a lock on that door tomorrow," Rumpel replied to her quietly.

"Good plan," Belle retorted then her wicked grin returned, "besides who know, if Annabelle sleeps in late in the morning like she always does I'll make it up to you tomorrow in the shower."

Rumpel shared the same wicked grin with her, "looking forward to it dearie."

* * *

Now that Annabelle was getting older her parents allowed her to become more independent and walk about the castle as she pleased. That, however was the only place she was allowed to wander around on her own. She wasn't allowed outside on her own, because she was magic she had the ability to cross the barrier that Rumpel created just as he can.

Still, Annabelle took much fun in being allowed around the castle on her own, she got lost a few times but her parents always came to find her. The more she explored the more she came to remember where everything was.

It was an average day and Annabelle was skipping along the hallways alone with her bunny under her arm. She was beginning to memorize the castle but today was different. She could sense something, something that had to be magic. She had been in the library before where Rumpel often created his potions but this was different. The magic that Annabelle was picking up on now was colder, she knew what that meant, dark magic.

Then it jumped out at her. A large wooden door that she hadn't recognized before. She must have been in this hallway well over a hundred times but she had never noticed this big wooden door before. Her curiosity got the better of her, slowly she went up to the door and gripped the brass handle and turned it. The door creaked open loudly and it behind it was a flight of descending stairs.

Annabelle didn't even know that the castle had a basement, Rumpel and Belle never mentioned that to her. So she supposed it was ok to go down there. She pulled her little blue hood closer to her as she went down the stairs as it got colder. Every step she took a torch would light itself on the way down. When she reached the final step she surveyed the basement.

It was cold and dark. There was a long hallway and each had a door made of bars that lead into small rooms as if they were cages for animals. Perhaps one day Annabelle would bring her stuffed animals down here to play in them. Near the end of the hallway was another room that Annabelle made her way to.

She could feel it building, the sense of magic. In the room at the end of the hall was shelves of random things. Things that she had never seen before. Annabelle couldn't read much but she could recognize some words. One thing she recognized was her fathers name on a scary looking dagger. Why did that scary dagger have her papa's name on it? She didn't touch it, she could sense alot of dark magic attached to it and she knew better than to mess with dark magic just as her papa had told her, she also wasn't allowed to play with knifes either.

There was also a small box with a red jewel on it. Annabelle wasn't very interested in blocks so she ignored that one. Besides another object caught her eye. It was resting inside a velvet case, it was a heart shaped locket. On the locket it had a deep red stone on it like the block it sat next to. Annabelle loved the locket she thought it would be the kind of necklace that only a princess would wear so she picked it up to look at it.

She could tell there was magic attached to it, but it matched her papa's magic. Maybe he just stored some of it in here. She turned the locket over to look at the back, there was a name engraved in it. A name she hadn't read before. R-E-G-I-N-A. Annabelle couldn't spell out the name well enough just only identify the letters. Either way she slipped to locket on and marveled at how pretty it was.

She wanted to go back up to her room to show her animals her pretty neck princess necklace she turned around to start heading back to the hallway and the stairs when she heard something. Someone whispering.

"Annabelle..." the voice said in quiet whisper. If the dungeon hadn't already been silent as a grave yard Annabelle wouldn't have heard it.

"Mama?" Annabelle asked, it sounded like a womans voice. She turned around and saw another thing in the room full of trinkets. It was a large concrete box, one that was much taller and longer than little Annabelle, "Hello?"

She could hear the womans voice again whispering her name coming from the box. As Annabelle studied the large concrete box she could hear her fathers voice in her head reminding her that magic had consequ- Cons-y-qwenc... what ever it was. She felt like there was something wrong with the concrete box so she left it behind. She made her way up through the hallway and ran back up the stairs. She slipped the locket underneath her cloak to hide it. She didn't want mama or papa to take it from her before she had a chance to play with it.


	10. Chapter 10

She wasn't Annabelle when she wore the locket, she was princess Annabelle. Instead of a crown Annabelle saw the locket as a sign of royalty. She ruled over the kingdom of her bedroom and stuffed animals were her subjects. Still Annabelle didn't tell her papa or mama about the locket. She didn't even tell them that she had found a secret passage. It was kind of exciting having such a big secret.

However the next day with the locket hidden under her dress she went to the same hallway again and tried to find the door again and it was gone. She was sure that she went to the same hallway, she even explored other hallways but the door was no where to be found. Oh well...

She had tried once or twice to open the locket but it was sealed shut. She figured that she would need to use her magic to open it but she didn't know how to use it yet. Still the track of a four year olds mind only went so far before she found something else to distract her.

At the age of five, Annabelle had grown 4 inches taller and had lost her baby face. She no longer looked like a baby, she was now a child. It saddened Rumpel and Belle, she wasn't a baby anymore, she didn't even want to be called a baby anymore.

Still Rumpel and Belle were concerned about matters back in Bae and Emma's kingdom. Things were getting worse out there. They could sense it even from far away. Rumpel also had to begin working harder with Annabelle, it seemed as though every day she was getting stronger and stronger and masted more spells quickly.

It gave Rumpel hope that they could return soon, it had been far to long since they had seen the rest of the family. It pained his heart, how much he missed Bae, and Belle missed Emma and Snow desperately. She was also wanting to give Annabelle a friend of her own age.

Annabelle was oblivious to the stress her parents faced, they hadn't told her of the struggles going on back home. She didn't need to know about that. Being that she was five she was allowed more independence to roam about the castle and she could now remember everything. Annabelle still had the locket hidden from her parents. She still loved it dearly and played with it often pretending that she was a princess in it.

Now though she was more curious than ever to open it. She wanted to know why is was sealed shut so tightly. Her curiosity was growing. As she made her way down the grand staircase towards the room where mama read and papa spun she stopped. She could hear mama and papa fighting again. They were fighting over when they should go back home. Annabelle didn't understand why they were fighting, she thought that this was their home. She slid the locket under her dress and slowly entered the room peeking her head through the door. Mama and papa stopped fighting at once. Papa went and sat at his spinning wheel placing his head in his hands frustrated.

"Can I go play in the west wing?" Annabelle asked with a voice not quiet as squeaky as it used to be.

"Annnabelle..." Belle sighed looking flustered, "Do you really need to play there? Can't you stay around here?"

"But I like the west wing, it's so big I can run around without runnin' into stuff," Annabelle explained.

Belle sighed, "Fine, but only for a few hours when the sun is setting you come back here understood?"

"Yes mama," Annabelle said quietly and walked back out. Why were her mama and papa so cross all the sudden?

Annabelle ran up to the west wing holding her arms out as if she were flying. She carefully bounced off the walls making up games in her head as she went along. Suddenly Annabelle heard something, a voice.

"Annabelle..." said a womans voice in a quiet whisper.

"Mama?" Annabelle called out walking the hallways. She felt her heart get colder, dark magic...

From farther down the hallway Annabelle heard a loud creaking noise. Annabelle moved down the hallway and saw the large wooden door that she had found over a year ago. She went to it and opened the door wider. Just as before the torches on the wall all light themselves inviting her down the stairs. She could sense dark magic, it was stronger than before. Still her naïve nature compelled her to go down the stairs into the basement.

It was just as Annabelle remembered, a long hallway with animal cages on either side and at the end of the hallway a room that held an assortment of objects that Annabelle didn't understand. Even a year later she still didn't understand why a scary looking knife had her papa's name on it and she still wasn't allowed to play with knives either.

"Annabelle..." the quiet eerie voice said again.

This time Annabelle would identify where it was coming from, the large concrete box on the opposite wall of the small room. Annabella crawled up on top of a near by crate to see the top of the box. It had a writing on it that Annabelle could now read.

_Cora Miller, The Queen of Hearts _

_Rest In Peace_

Annabelle had never heard the name Cora before. She must have been a queen and all of her possessions and jewels must be in the large concrete box, Annabelle concluded. She wished that the box would open so she could see them.

Almost as if the box had read her mind, the sounds of concrete moving started and the thick lid of the box slowly slid off towards the side. Only it wasn't full of dresses and jewels as Annabelle thought, there was a lady in it. Her eyes were closed and she looked stiff as a board. The lady had long dark brown hair, her face looked much older than her mamas', and she was wearing a elegant black corseted dress with red jewels detailed through out. Annabelle never heard of a queen that wore so much black before and she could sense that this lady was magic too but it wasn't the same kind of magic that here papa had.

But she did have magic, just like Annabelle and her papa, she was one of them. Slowly Annabelle reached out her small hand and touched a jewel on her dress. When she did Annabelle could feel her own magic flow through her body, through her hand and into the lady that was before here. A yellow light flowed over the lady and she slowly opened her eyes. They were dark and cold and when her eyes connected with Annabelle she felt her heart get colder.

The lady looked from the childs face down to her neck, at her locket.

"What a lovely trinket..." the lady cooed in a silky voice, "where did you get it child?"

"I found it," Annabelle answered. She wasn't sure about this.

"What's your name child?" The lady asked surveying her.

"Annabelle..." she answered shyly, "are you a queen?"

"Yes pet I am," She said with a grin that Annabelle thought seemed insincere, "who are you? How do you have magic little one?"

"I got it from my papa," Annabelle replied.

"And who is your papa?" the lady asked.

"His name's on that dagger over there," Annabelle said pointing to the knife. Rumpelstiltskin was another word she always had trouble saying.

"Rumpelstiltskin?" the lady asked with a shocked expression, "Rumpelstiltskin is your father?"

"Yeah, and my mama, Belle," Annabelle added.

The fake smile returned to the lady's face, "Well... it's very nice to meet you Annabelle. My name is Cora. Queen Cora"

* * *

_Dear RBA_

_The nest has truly fallen from the tree. the other nests have been quarlling for months on end. Many birds from both side have fallen. Our home nest no longer has much sticks and twigs to sustain the nest. Still the birds here are determined to stay out of the quarrels. Not looking forward to winter. Hope you are well. _

_Love, all of us. _

* * *

"How did you get your magic? Were you born with it like me?" Annabelle asked. She had snuck down to the basement again to see her new friend, Queen Cora. The two had become considerably close.

Though Cora encouraged Annabelle to keep her a secret. They had formed what Cora called a secret kingdom in the basement where Annabella kept most of her toys now. Cora was the queen and Annabelle was her princess. Together they ruled over their secret kingdom.

"No pet, I wasn't born this way," Cora said sipping her imaginary tea with Annabelle, "As a matter of fact, your papa gave me my magic."

"You got magic from my papa?" Annabelle asked confused. She didn't know that her papa could do that.

"Yes pet, he and I used to be quiet close," Cora replied.

* * *

_Son, _

_We want desperately to return we are considering it in the near future. Things here are so peaceful, it doesn't feel right with such even occurring just a tree away. Baby bird hasn't truly mastered the art of flying yet, but she'll fly well enough to return home. I'll bring sticks and twigs. _

_Love RBA_

* * *

"Why don't you come meet my papa and mama, I bet my papa would like to see his friend again," Annabelle expressed.

"Not yet pet," Cora said sitting behind Annabelle braiding her hair, "I will someday but not yet."

Cora looked over Annabelle's dress, it was fading blue and had a few tears at the bottom but nothing to noticable, "why is your dress so tattered and plain?"

"I've had this dress for a long time, usually my mama makes my dresses but she hasn't made me a new one recently," Annabelle said.

"What about your papa? Can't he just conjure up a dress for you?" Cora asked.

"Yeah, but he doesn't like to use his magic much. He says all magic comes with a price," Annabelle expressed. She didn't mind much though, she wasn't a very materialistic child because Rumpel and Belle had raised her to think differently.

"Yes but it doesn't have to pet," Cora said to her turning her around to face her.

"It doesn't? But papa says all magic comes with a price," Annabelle said confused.

"That's only for people who aren't willing to pay the price," Cora cooed to her. With a wave of her hand over Annabelle's head a dark black smoke consumed her.

When the smoke faded Annabelle looked down and found herself in a dark black dress made of fine material with red ribbons around it that resembled Cora's dress. Annabelle never really cared much for black.

* * *

_Dear RBA, _

_We're patiently awaiting your return, we know that with your ability to fly you will restore the nest to it's former glory. We're sending in few birds in return for sticks and twigs but it's not enough. The other trees are questioning your whereabouts. The pressure from the other nests are building about your nest. Still the birds here are strong enough to face bully birds. Miss you._

_Love, all of us._

* * *

Belle could sense change in the air, it more tense and scared. Rumpel spent most days spinning at his wheel, but this time it was different. He was spinning to forget, he was becoming distant. Belle knew why, he was worried about the Bae and the kingdom. The war was raging on between two neighboring kingdoms. He was scared, so was she.

Belle also noticed differences in Annabelle, like now she braided her hair everyday. Belle never taught her to braid her hair, Annabelle said that she just figured it out on her own. Belle saw no reason to question this. However she was spending a lot more time alone lately, she would disappear but was always in the castle. It began to worry Belle that she was spending to much time alone but Belle just assumed that this was a phase of Annabelle's life that would come to pass.

One morning, the family was sitting at breakfast when Annabelle asked, "mama can you make me a new dress?"

"I though you hated when I made you stand to fit you a dress?" Belle asked.

"I know but I want something nicer," Annabelle said. Now Rumpel and Belle were looking at her confused.

"Nicer?" Belle asked. Belle was in no way fit to create dresses for queens but the dresses that she could make were suitable none the less.

"The dresses that mama makes you are perfectly fine, besides what do you care? You usually rip or stain your dresses within a few hours of playing," Rumpel said to her.

"I know but I want something prettier," Annabelle whined, "something a princess would wear." This was strange, Annabelle never whined not even when her mama made her stand to make her new dresses.

"Well..." Belle sighed, "alright. I'll make you a new one this afternoon."

* * *

_Son, _

_Soon enough the bully birds will not be a problem. Baby bird sixth birthday is not far off, we're almost ready to fly home, soon our nests will reunite. Try to hold the nest up a little bit longer. _

_Love, RBA_

* * *

"Cora!" Annabelle cried out as she raced down the stairs, "Cora! Look, mama made me a new dress!"

Cora looked and saw a deep red dress on Annabelle that matched the Locket she kept hidden in the basement now. As she entered the small room and she spun around for her to see with a big smile.

"Oh pet you look beautiful!" Cora expressed. She took the locket off the shelf and placed it around Annabelle's neck and then took her hands spinning her, "You look like a princess. My little princess."

Annabelle giggled as her and Cora spun together dancing in the room.

* * *

_Papa, _

_Henry's dead, he died in battle._

_-Bae._

Rumpel sat there and stared at the last letter he received for what seemed like hours. The candle light that he read next to had burned completely out with nothing but hot was puddles on the table. The sun was just barely disappearing past the horizon giving the library a warm glow. But Rumpel just felt cold, he couldn't believe this, he could see tear stains on the parchment that Bae wrote on and the sloppiness of his hand writing. Bae was dying inside, they must all be. Rumpel made a decision, it was time to return home. Tomorrow.

Belle stood over Rumpel with her hands on his shoulders, she was crying to.

"Belle..." Rumpel whimpered standing facing her, "we have to go back."

"I know and we will," Belle cried quietly wrapping her arms around him, "We'll stay together. Promise me."

"Promise what?" Rumpel asked looking back towards her but keeping her in his arms.

"That no matter what," Belle began in between tears,"that whatever is waiting for us back home, that we'll all stay together. She needs you."

"I will," Rumpel said pulling her back, "we'll always be together."

They stayed in the embrace for what seemed like forever until they heard small feet running up the stairs.

Annabelle entered the library and saw the stern expression and the tears on her mama's face.

"What's wrong?" Annabelle's little innocent voice asked.

"We're going home Annabelle," Rumpel said as Belle turned her back on their daughter to try to clean up her face, "It's time for us to go back."

"I thought this was our home?" Annabelle asked.

"No sweetheart, where we're going is much better than this," Rumpel said going to her and kneeling down to her so they were face to face, "where we're going we have more family and there are other children there. Children your age so you can make some real friends."

"But I like it here," Annabelle said stepping back from her father.

"But where we're going is even better. I promise you will like it much better," Rumpel replied, "and what's more we'll all be together, plus the rest of the family that we have. You can finally meet your brother Baelfire."

"Are we leaving now?" Annabelle asked.

"No, tomorrow in the morning," Rumpel replied.

"Can I bring a friend?" Annabelle asked.

"Of course you can bring all your stuffed animals," Rumpel smiled trying to comfort her, "all of your toys, your clothes, they're all coming with us."

Annabelle just turned around and ran back down the stairs. She had to tell Cora.

Rumpel stood there at the top of the stairs confused but he decided that Annabelle needed to work this out on her own, he knew that once she saw the kingdom and met the rest of the family she would love it. She just needed time.

Annabelle was racing down the corridors to the west wing. The door was there just as usual, she flung it open and hurried down the stairs.

"Cora!" Annabelle called out.

Cora was there in the small room, holding the knife with her papa's name on it.

"What are you doing with that knife?" Annabelle asked panting.

"Just admiring it," Cora relied cooly placing it back on the stand on the shelf, "what is it pet?"

"We're leaving, all of us. We're going back to where our other home is," Annabelle expressed.

"Where is your other home?" Cora asked.

"I don't know, I've never been there," Annabelle replied, "come with us. Papa says the kingdom is great!"

Instead of answering her, Cora slowly pulled the locket off of the shelf and held it up in the light, "You don't know what this is do you pet?"

"It's a locket," Annabelle said quietly. She could sense something was about to happen but she couldn't tell.

"Have you ever tried to open it?" Cora asked.

"I tried but its stuck shut," Annabelle answered starting to back away. She wanted her papa now, "I can't open it."

"Oh trust me pet you can," Cora said walking towards her. She held out her hand with the locket to her, "take it."

Annabelle took the locket from her and studied it again, "Who's Regina? I think this is her locket, it has her name on it."

"No it doesn't turn it over," Cora prompted.

Annabelle turned it over and saw her name where Regina used to be.

"Open it," Cora commanded.

"I can't," Annabelle said with fear building in her. Something wasn't right.

"Yes you can but you have to want it, use your magic to open it," Cora replied.

"But papa said not to use and spells on anything, I just need to know how to control them," Annabelle cried, "he says all magic comes with a price."

"Come now pet," Cora said walking to her and kneeled down to her level, "aren't you the least bit curious of what's inside? It's just a tiny little spell to open it, it won't be as bad as you think. I promise."

Annabelle looked into Cora's eye, she had that fake grin on her face but she was truly wondering what was inside of it. Cora had never steered her wrong before and she did say it was only a little spell to open the locket. Maybe the price wouldn't be as bad as what papa always said it would be.

So, in focusing all her magic from her body to her hands that held the locket, she concentrated on opening it. She slid her fingernails in between the lock and slowly pulled it open. It opened with ease but once it did a force exploded out of it throwing Annabelle to the floor a few feet back. From the locket a large cloud of purple smoke flowed out of the locket towards Annabelle. It slowly creeped up to the small five year old before the smoke consumed her whole.

"Papa!" Annabelle cried out as loud as she could.


	11. Chapter 11

The sun had disappeared past the horizon. Rumpel and Belle were scrambling about their room tossing their belongings into a trunk. They were going to leave for their true home tomorrow morning. After they were done with their room they were going to move onto Annabelle's room to help her pack up her toys and clothes. Suddenly Rumpel heard it, or more or less felt it.

He heard her tiny shrill scream in his ears that made his blood turn cold, "papa!"

"Annabelle..." Rumpel whispered and ran out of their room and headed towards Annabelle's room.

Belle was calling from behind him, wondering what was going on. Rumpel called out his daughters name as he raced to her door. He flung it open calling out her name and started to tear through the room in all her usual hiding spots.

"Rumpel! Rumpel whats going on?" Belle asked desperately. Rumpel was frightening her.

"Find Annabelle!" Rumpel demanded and left the room knowing she wasnt in there.

He and Belle scrambled through all parts of the castle calling of for her. Rumpel tried to find her by trying to sense her in the castle but he couldn't find her. His heart was beating viciously and with each passing minute he didn't find her it got worse. He refused to believe that she wasn't in the castle, it wasn't possible. Then he remembered, the west wing where she loved to play. He ran to the west wing and when he found the large wooden door hanging wide open it made his heart drop. How was that door open? It was hidden in a way that only another magic could open...magic that was far beyond Annabelle's skill...right?

From behind Rumpel, Belle raced up behind him and when she noticed that the door was wide open her heart also dropped. Together they raced down the stairs past the bar cells to the room where Rumpel locked away all his most dangerous items.

"Rumpel..." Belle whispered out of fear pointing to a shelf.

Rumpel looked, the stand that held up the dark one's dagger, his dagger was gone and so was Regina's locket. He looked to the other side as well. Cora's coffin, which Regina had asked him to lock away, was wide open and there was nothing in it but a note.

_Rumpelstiltskin, _

_You have quiet a delightful little girl. She's got a great talent buried deep in her, did you know she can return people from the dead? Not even you and I can do that. Looking forward to seeing you again. _

_Yours Truley, _

_Queen Cora_

Rumpel didn't know how he didn't collapse right then and there like Belle did. When she read the note over Rumpel's shoulder she broke down crying out Annabelle's name. She grabbed her stuff bunny nearby and cried into it. Rumpel on the other hand felt a wave of calmness wash over him, the same wave that turned him cold and numb. He knew that Cora had his dagger, the dagger that could kill him for good. He also knew that Cora loved making deals just as much as he did. He knew what he had to do.

"Belle," Rumpel said grabbing her arm and pulling her up, "Hold onto me."

Belle did as he commanded and saw a cloud of smoke cover them. She closed her eyes and when she reopened them they were back at home. Back at Bae and Emma's castle, they were in the court yard and from there they could see the town. It always had this warm glow through out the streets even at night but now it looked much darker and more run down than usual. The lack of money was truly hitting the town hard.

"Come," Rumpel said darkly sprinting off towards the castle.

They entered the castle heading towards the main hall, he could sense everyone was there and he knew why. They approached the grand doors and slammed them open. Six heads flipped to the door to see who was entering.

Baelfire, Emma, Snow, Charming, Regina, and Robin hood were all gathered around in a circle. Their jaws dropped when they saw Rumpel and Belle striding in. Rumpel went pass them all and looked down at what they were looking at, Henry. He had aged over the last 5 years and grown into a young man, he no longer appeared as an awkward teenager. He was a man, a dead man. He was laying in an elaborate open coffin surrounded in white roses and candles. A large gash through his chest proved to be his death.

Rumpel knew that if he were here he could have healed it with a snap of his fingers. He had lost a part of his family, his grandson. He could feel the gaping hole in his darkened heart growing bigger from loosing Annabelle and Henry.

"What are you doing here?" Baelfire asked.

Rumpel moved his gaze to look at his son, he looked tired and teary. Instead of an answer Rumpel pulled his son into a hug while Bae broke down into his shoulder.

Snow also went to Belle noticing that she was crying as well. She also noticed something else was wrong, "Where is she?"

"She took her..." Belle sobbed, "she's gone."

"Gone where?" Snow asked shocked.

"Cora took her," Rumpel growled.

"My mother?" Regina asked equally shocked, "She's dead!"

"It's Annabelle," Rumpel said stepping away from the group frustrated, "She has powers that you, me and your mother could never do. She can return people from the dead."

"What?" Regina yelled, "How?"

"She wasn't created the same way that you and I were dearie," Rumpel answered, "she was born this way. She brought Belle back to life after she had given birth to her, she's different from us."

"So we go after her," Bae said boldly, "this family isn't loosing another child, we'll all go after her."

"It's not you that she wants it's me," Rumpel said holding back threatening tears, now wasn't the time for that.

"No!" Charming declared and went to Rumpel placing his hand on Rumpel's shoulder, "We'll do this together."

"You can't she's too strong, this isn't like fighting a dragon or an ogre," Rumpel replied.

"Give me my locket, I'll go with you," Regina declared stepping forward.

"That's part of the problem, Cora took my dagger and your locket with her she's probably using it either on herself or on Annabelle," Rumpel said leaning on a ledge.

"But if she gives my magic to your daughter-" Regina started to say.

"I know! It'll turn her heart dark...I know..." Rumpel stated.

Belle was prepared to break down again but now she had to be bold, "then use your magic... your dark magic."

The room got quiet as everyone now just stared.

"Belle I can't-" Rumpel started.

"Yes you can. You're the dark one, I know it's in you. I can see it, I could always see it," Belle said holding the tears back, "you used magic to come after me when I was kidnapped. You tore through an entire band of pirates to get me back. I know you want to do it again, I can see it in your eyes."

"There's always a price to pay for using that kind of magic," Rumpel said and he knew that but this time he was willing to pay the price more than anything but it was still hard to surrender to. He always felt like if he used his real magic again that he would loose Belle, now he could see that he was going to lose Belle and Annabelle, "I'm going to get her back. Whatever I have to do I will."

Bae and Charming helped Rumpel prepare for the journey. After talking with Regina Rumpel knew where Cora would have gone. Back to Regina's dark castle, it was like Rumpel's far away from anyone else. If they weren't there he would start circling the globe of their world to find her. He wasn't going to stop like he did with Bae, he was either going to return with Annabelle or not at all.

That was the promise that he made to Belle. She was the hardest good-bye. Rumpel knew that his honour, her love all rested in finding their daughter. Rumpel secretly wondered if this was the last time they would ever see each other. With one last kiss, he pulled his cloak over his head and stepped away looking at his family. All of them lined up to say good-bye to him to what might be the last time they saw him.

"I know you're going to find her," Bae said to him, "the same way you found me. We will see you again."

Rumpel gave a small nod and closed his eyes letting his magic consume him and disappeared. He reappeared deep in the dark woods hidden in the trees. Off in the distance was a vast lake and in the center of it was Regina's castle. It's intimidating structure had its dark spikes reaching for the sky. It was mostly dark except for the light in the tallest room, a room that Rumpel knew well.

However he wasn't ready to go face Cora yet. He had to dig a part of him out from deep within himself. From living in Storybrook for so long he had learned that living without magic was a possibility. He also kept his promise to Belle to never use his magic except for the purpose of protecting her, and now Annabelle. Over the years he never needed his magic because he was happy as it was. He didn't need it until now.

He remembered it well though. He could feel the magic coursing through him bringing him back to what he once was. All his old dark spells came back to him in a flash and he suddenly felt like his old self again from long would taste a lie to say he didn't sometimes miss this, this power at the tips of his fingers. Only last time it was empty and meaningless. Now he had a purpose to be his old self again.


	12. Chapter 12

He reappeared outside the door of Regina's former room and entered trying to prepared himself for anything. When he entered he saw a small figure hidden under a red cloak on the ottoman nearby.

"Annabelle!" Rumpel said and ran towards her.

immediately a ring of fire appeared around him keeping him from the chair. From the other side of the room a small part of the ring of fire disappeared...and in walked Annabelle. Only different...

She still stood as a little girl, but it wasn't the little girl Rumpel remembered or loved. Her hair was in two braids hindering her curls, her eyes weren't glowing anymore. In fact they were as black as the long dress she was wearing and around her neck was the locket with the ruby on it.

"Annabelle...?" Rumpel asked falling to his knees.

"Hello Rumpelstiltskin..." The small child said coldly. It wasn't the innocent squealy voice that was rightfully hers. The voice she used now was cold and sounded too mature for her. Her heart was dark, dark because she had Regina's magic in her.

"Do you remember who I am?" Rumpel begged of her.

"Yes, you're my papa the dark one," Annabelle replied, "you're here to reunite the family together."

"Yes! I am! Come one we need to get out of here," Rumpel said holding out his arms to her.

"Get out of here? The family's all here now," Annabelle said confidently, "Mama's waiting for you."

"Yes Rumpel," Said another cool voice and another entered the circle, Cora, "I've been waiting a long time for you."

"What did you do to her!?" Rumpel demanded standing walking to her.

"You mean what did we do to her? We raised her to be the way she was born to be, you know that," Cora said smiling wickedly at him.

"Yeah, this is who I'm supposed to be papa," Annabelle said joining them. The ring of fire died down. She didn't talk like a bubbly child anymore, now she sounded more like a bored teenager. She took Rumpel and Cora's hand. Instead of a warm tingle as always it just chilled Rumpel's heart when she touched him, "and now I have my mama and papa here with me, and we'll always be together right?"

"You think this is your mother?" Rumpel yelled out releasing her hand. He got down to her level and grabbed her shoulder gently, "Annabelle this isn't your mother! Belle is, don't you remember her? Belle!"

"That girl that you kidnapped and sold to pirates?" Annabelle asked with an attitude.

"No, no no! Annabelle what's the last thing you remember?" Rumpel demanded.

"You, me and mama, we were all in here saying good-bye to you," Annabelle explained, "You were going to kill King Baelfire's son Henry and now that you did you're coming back to us."

She was cursed, cursed with fake memories of a fake life and Rumpel knew how to break all curses. Cora saw this and waved her hand to freeze him before Rumpel could grab her to place a kiss on her forehead.

"Pet, why don't you go to your room while me and papa talk," Cora said petting her head.

"Ok, I love you mama," Annabelle smiled up at her and turned to Rumpel, "I love you papa."

It was all fake. The fake smile, the fake eyes, the fake was she said that she loved Rumpel, it was breaking his heart.

Annabelle walked out of the room and closed the door. When she was gone Cora released Rumpel from her grip.

"Why? Why are you doing this?" Rumpel asked.

"To make you suffer of course," Cora said and stretched out on the ottoman. Rumpel recognized what she was doing...

"Now why would want to do that dearie?" Rumpel questioned her.

"To show you what a pathetic life you're living," Cora replied, "to show you what it truly is that you threw away and for what? That girl Belle? Do you even realize the gift your daughter possesses? She brought me back to life Rumpel!"

"Now dearie," Rumpel said and went to her and grabber her throat and slammed her against a near by wall, "We both know that's not really why you're doing this to me."

"What other reason would I have?" Cora laughed.

"You still love me," Rumpel said releasing her, "really dearie I can see it in you. A dress that's to revealing for your age, the way you cursed Annabelle into believing she's our daughter, the way you always wanted me to come back to you so we could take over the world together. I think you really do wish that Annabelle was your daughter, and for more than her gift. You want us both here with you."

"How can I love you?" Cora sneered behind her lies, "I already ripped out my heart remember?"

"And yet here you stand jealous of Belle and wanting me to stay here with you," Rumpel stated back, "Is it because Regina never quiet lived up to be the daughter you wanted and you can now manipulate Annabelle into what you want her to be?"

"I want us all to rise up to a higher power!" Cora yelled back, "We could do it you know!"

"For what point dearie?" Rumpel asked.

"You told me long ago that power was everything, you told me to make everyone fear me,to make everyone bow before me," Cora explained walking around him, "and now that I'm on the brink of it you want nothing more to do with me."

"I realized long after I left you that there's a lot more to life that power," Rumpel expressed. He closed his eyes and sighed prepared to offer his last deal to Cora, "how about I make you a deal..."

Cora eyed him suspiciously, "I'm listening."

"I'll stay here..." Rumpel said trying to keep his voice from quivering, "I'll stay here with you...and you let Annabelle go."

The tension hung in the air thick as Rumpel awaited her answer. Cora just gave him that fake wicked grin.

"You know," Cora started, "if you had offered me that deal long before I met your precious daughter I would have taken your offer. However now I'm starting to realize that Annabelle has more to offer me than you."

Rumpel had enough, with all the power he could muster he used both his hands to throw a ball of fire at her which she split in half to keep from her. Several parts of the room ignited from the flames. Cora responded by throwing a bolt of lightning at Rumpel sending sparks flying, he managed to catch it but the bolts entered his body zinging through him making his muscles go numb. He was able to pull it back out of his body and throw it back at her. The tall stained glass windows nearby shattered and rained down glass onto them.

"Someone's getting sloppy," Cora pointed out, "been awhile since you used magic Rumpel?"

She began to conjure up another spell to throw at him but she stopped when a voice rang out through the burning broken glass room.

"Stop!" Annabelle cried out running back in, "please don't fight anymore. I hate seeing you guys fight. I just want us to stay together as a family!"

Annabelle ran right up to Rumpel, now was his chance. Before Cora had anytime to conjure up anything, Rumpel grabbed Annabelle and quickly placed a kiss on her forehead. Instead of the usual throwback of the curse breaking, instead Annabelle's eyes fell shut and her body stiffened and she started to fall to the ground but Rumpel cradled her just as he always has.

"Annabelle?" Rumpel cried out shocked, the kiss was supposed to work.

"Poor thing," Cora said wickedly, "such a shame. She could have been great."

"She's not dead!" Rumpel screamed at here. He could still feel her heart beating despite the face is was cold, but this wasn't a sleeping curse. What was it? "What did you do?!"

"I simply created my own curse, a curse that can't be broken by a kiss," Cora replied.

"What kind of curse? All curses can be broken!" Rumpel said standing to her.

"Well, the curse I created does have it's conditions," Cora said walking towards Annabelle and studied the child, "for one the person that puts her in the curse must be blood related to her, that's you. When the person kisses her she falls into a limbo."

Rumpel looked down at her daughter, she was trapped.

"She's stuck deep down in a limbo where it will pick at her mind, find her true worst fears. Those fears become her reality," Cora stated, "quiet an ingenious curse lives in a world of nothing but her fears and you get to suffer knowing you put her there."

Rumpel could just imagine what his little Annabelle must be going through. He hugged her close to him and just pictured her being trapped in a dark world of all her fears. The idea of her being scared and alone made him sick.

"How do I get her out of it?" Rumpel asked willing to sell whatever was left over of his soul to her. Gently he placed her on the ground.

"There's only one way," Cora stated and from behind Rumpel's back pulled out his dagger. Rumpel could sense that she had it, he didn't care he just wanted Annabelle out of her own personal hell, "the one who put her in limbo must die. That will break the curse."

Rumpel let what she said sink in, with that he only had one thing he wanted to do. He leaned down getting close to his little girls voice and whispered in her ear so soft so that Cora wouldn't hear, "Be brave Annabelle, use your magic Annabelle."

Rumpel felt the dagger pierce through his chest and point out through the other side. He could feel all the magic, all the life in him draining out through the dagger into Cora. Cora let out a wicked laugh of victory as Rumpel fell to the ground next to his daughter and the last bit of life slipped out of him.

Once Rumpel was truly gone, a purple mist flowed out of Annabelle and back into the locket laying open near by snapping shut. Her glowing amber eyes snapped open. It all came flooding back to her. Cora, she tricked her and turned her heart dark. She took Annabelle to a dark scary castle and manipulated her. She killed her papa with the dagger with his name on it.

Annabelle looked up at Cora with the dagger in her hands, now it had her name on it.

Her papa was right, magic did have consequences. Practicing spells in their forest was different, this was real. Magic truly did have consequences... and now her papa was gone.

Annabelle felt a wave of sadness and tears over flow her as she looked up at Cora. She was scared of her, she wanted her papa. Then she heard his voice in her ear, almost as if she heard it in a dream, "Be brave Annabelle, use your magic."

Annabelle had to be brave, for her papa so she stood up, "you ticked me!"

"I'm making you stronger pet," Cora said walking towards her holding out her hands.

Annabelle quickly stepped back from her feeling anger taking over her heart, it was making her colder. It was the same familure sense of cold that she felt in her papa. Annabelle's wrath and the magic that could follow it was what Rumpel had truly passed down to her. Rumpel always simply told her not to act on that wrath...until now.

"Be brave Annabelle, use your magic."

"Come pet," Cora said kneeling down to her, "I can make you stronger than you ever imagined. I can show you everything, anything you could ever want I can give it to you. All you have to do is let me be your mother."

"You are not my mother!" Annabelle screamed out and she could feel the wrath in her heart explode out of her. It threw Cora back against the stone wall and left crack where she had collided with the wall.

"You little-" Cora began trying to recover.

Annabelle threw her little arms up and felt the stones in the wall and pulled them forward. They all rained down on her and buried her in rock and dust. Annabelle stood there trying to hold onto what ever little bravery she had. The pile of rubble didn't move, and castle was dead silent and Rumpel's body layed a few feet behind Annabelle.

The pile of rubble exploded sending rocks flying everywhere. Annabelle was able to reflect any rocks from hitting her or Rumpel's body. Annabelle, not really thinking things through, ran out onto the balcony soon realizing that she had just trapped herself. She had to be quick, she climbed up onto the railing trying to remember everything that her papa had taught her. Cora came gliding out onto the balcony knowing she had no where to go.

Annabelle leaned back and let herself fall off the balcony. She could hear Cora calling for her as she fell, she closed her eyes and concentrated. Just like her father said she would she disappeared and reappeared in the great room of the dark palace. At first Annabelle was proud of herself for mastering what her papa had done for years but Cora could do the same and reappeared in front of her.

Cora started to do what Annabelle did to her. She pulled down the bricks and stones of the castle and started to aim them at the small child. She ran through the room in and out of the columns and rocks dodging the falling boulders. Cora just pulled down the columns as she ran in between them but she narrowly missed them. She tried to concentrate again and disappeared and reappeared in the room they were at in the beginning, at the base of the rubble that Annabelle first dropped on Cora. It was the shine that initially caught her eye, it was buried in the rubble. Annabelle started to throw the rocks aside to get to it, the dagger. It still had Cora's name on it. She held it in her hand, she could feel the overwhelming power and darkness it held. She turned and looked at her papa's body still lying on the floor nearby. She knew what she had to do. She tucked the dagger under her belt and ran to her papa.

The castle was beginning to shake. The old age of the stones and the fact that Cora was pulling the castle apart bit by bit made the whole structure unstable. It was beginning to collapse.

Annabelle reached her father and carefully placed her hand over his heart hoping it would work...and it did. A small yellow light cascaded over Rumpel's body and slowly he opened his eyes. He looked before him and saw her with her glowing amber eyes smiling to him warmly. He reached out his hand and placed it on her small face, but he took into account what was going on. Cora was coming after them and he was only a man. He no longer had any magic.

From down the hall the pair could hear Cora walking up the hallway playfully calling for Annabelle to come out of hiding.

Rumpel's eyes went right to the dagger hanging on Annabelle's hip, it had Cora's name on it. This time Rumpel had something that he didn't have the last time he was only a man, bravery. He quickly grabbed it and hid behind a pillar next to the door and nodded to Annabelle. Annabelle understood what has about to happen and stepped back to the middle of the room and waited for her.

The castle was crumbling more and more by the second, Annabelle and Rumpel could feel that the floor wouldn't hold out much longer. Cora came crashing into the room covered in dirt and blood.

"Now listen here pet!" Cora began to yell at her bust stopped when she noticed Rumpel's absent body near a pool of his blood.

Rumpel sneaked out from behind the pillar and buried the knife deep into Cora and twisted it. He could see her magic fading.

"You want to see who you're father truly is?" Cora prompted weakly to Annabelle feeling everything from her fading, "look at what the true monster he is. This is who he is what is really inside of you."

Rumpel didn't have time to figure out what she meant, he dropped her body and turned to Annabelle. The castle was falling apart. He ran to Annabelle wrapped her arms around her and they disappeared and reappeared outside on the edge of the lake. The two watched as the castle truly fell into the lake and nothing but the skeleton of the castle remained. Past that they could see a faint strip of orange approaching the horizon, the sun was rising.

At first Rumpel didn't know what Cora was talking about but then he saw it. He could feel his magic returning to his body but this time it was different, the hand that held the dagger was beginning to change. A dark green color slowly creeped up his arm and was spreading. Cora was right, he was changing back into the monster he was.

Annabelle watched the scene before her as something over took Rumpel. He was changing, changing into something that Annabelle had never seen before. A dark greeny color covered his skin and shined as if it were scales. His teeth looked rotted and his fingernails grew dark and dirty. His eyes, they started to glow a deep amber color that resembled hers. Could this man really be her papa?

Rumpel looked down to see what had just happened to him, he had become what he hoped Annabelle would never have to see. He was the monster that he once was but he could feel the magic, it was only skin deep. He still had love in his heart for Belle and Annabelle. He now only prayed that Annabelle could see past the monster at the man underneath.

Annabelle slowly approached the man before her, it didn't really look like her papa but he didn't look much like a monster either. When Annabelle stood before him the man kneeled down to her. Annabelle looked deep into his eyes, he could see the magic coursing through them just as they did with hers. Annabelle reached out and put her hand on the man chest to his heart.

It felt the same as it always did, a warm tingle in both of their hearts. There was a hint of darkness in both but there was more warmth than coldness. This was her still her papa.

"Papa," Annabelle whispered and wrapped her arms around him holding him tight.

Relief flooded through him as he wrapped his arms around the little girl he desperately missed. She could see past him just as her mother could. Like mother like daughter he supposed. He looked out to the horizon as the sun began to slowly drive away the darkness.

"Happy birthday sweetheart," Rumpel whispered keeping his arms wrapped around her as he watched the sun rise to the new day.


	13. Chapter 13

Baelfire, Emma, Snow, Charming, Regina and Belle all sat in the council room. They were making plans for Henry's funeral. Belle couldn't be apart of is, she was sitting at the window looking out over the decaying kingdom. The sun was just beginning to rise, she wondered is Rumpel and Annabelle could see it.  
Down near the court yard at the entrance of the castle she saw it, she saw them. Two hooded figures appeared holding onto one another. One was considerably smaller than the other.  
"They're back!" Belle said and started to run to the court yard.  
All the others followed but Belle was far ahead of them. Once she reached the courtyard she called out for Annabelle.  
"Mother!" Annabelle squealed and jumped out of Rumpel's hand and ran to her. Belle scooped up her daughter and held her close.  
Soon enough the others made it to the court yard and stopped at the door. First they saw Belle with a little girl with brown curls clinging to her. Then they looked past them and saw Rumpel... the dark one. Needless to say they were shocked at his appearance, something Rumpel was very used to when he lived like this.  
Belle began to notice it too, Rumpel. He looked like the dark one he once used to be. He had that freighting demeanor almost glowing around him. Belle could see past is, she always could. She walked up to Rumpel with Annabelle still in her arms. She stopped in front of him and looked up at his face. She could see him in his glowing amber eyes.  
With her free hand she placed it on his face. His skin was cool and rough to her touch as it once was. She pulled him into a kiss and when they connected it started to fade. The magic that was only skin deep compelling him to look the way he was faded away. He still had the magic in his heart. He knew why it was still there, because as the witch in Tortuga told them years ago Belle didnt' want him to loose his magic. Still he returned to looking like the man he was.  
"Ew..." Annabelle's little voice said at their kiss.  
It made Belle and Rumpel giggled as he pulled them all in for a hug. He looked past them at the group of people before him, they were all looking at Annabelle.  
"You ready to meet the rest of the family sweetheart?" Rumpel asked and Belle placed her down.  
Annabelle felt the shyness creep in. She took her mama and papa's hands, "what if they don't like me?"  
"Nonsense," Rumpel said to her, "They'll all adore you. Him there, that's your brother I always told you about Baelfire."  
Snow was the first to approach them, the rest followed slowly. They didn't want to overwhelm Annabelle to much.  
Snow got down on her level and smiled at her, "Hello little one, what's your name?"  
Annabelle clung to Rumpel and Belle and quietly said, "Annabelle."  
"Annabelle," Snow said is if it were a prayer, "that's a beautiful name. I'm Snow."  
Slowly the rest of them came forward and introduced themself to Annabelle. However Annabelle could sense something was off about all of them.  
"Why are you all so sad?" Annabelle asked in her naive nature.  
The group slowly looked down in grief. Henry.  
Rumpel picked up Annabelle and walked into the great room not far from the courtyard. The rest followed behind them wondering what they were doing. Rumpel came to realize something over the past night with Annabelle. She could bring the dead back to life because Snow was right. Rumpel was created out of death so he brought death where he went. Annabelle was born out of love so she could create life. It wasn't that she brought back like that had consequences it was who she brought back that could have consequences.  
"Remember when I told you about the night you were born?" Rumpel began to tell her, "about how my grandson Henry saved us all?"  
"Yeah," Annabelle said softly.  
"This is him," Rumpel said holding on to her peering over Henry's coffin. The candles had burnt out but the roses remained.  
"He saved me," Annabelle said looking down on him, "he saved all of us."  
"Yes, he did sweetheart," Rumpel said holding her.  
Annabelle looked down and smiled. She could feel the magic coursing through her and her eyes glowed a little brighter that moment. She reached out her hand and Rumpel bent her down to reach. Once Annabelle's little hand connected with Henry's heart a small yellow light covered his body. Slowly Henry opened his eyes and looked up.  
It was his grandfather...and her.  
"It's been a long time since I've seen you," Henry said softly even though his voice had dropped over the years, "welcome back to the family."  
By sun down that day the castle and the whole kingdom was a buzz with Rumpel, Belle and Henry's return. Rumpel, Belle and Annabelle met the rest of the family, Charlie who had grown into a child only a few years older than Annabelle and the addition to the family that Bae had mentioned in his letters two years ago. As it turns out Bae and Emma welcomed a little girl into the family that was just as wild and Emma was. The kingdom rejoiced and Bae and Emma threw a feast to welcome home his father and his family.j  
After the feast Rumpel noticed Annabelle leave the dinning room quietly. Rumpel excused himself and followed her. He found her sitting on a nearby window sill looking towards the night sky. It was a full moon that night giving the kingdom and blue glow.  
Rumpel came up behind her and held her to him, Annabelle responded by wrapping her arms around one of his. Together they studied the sky littered with stars and the bright glowing moon.  
"You know you can harvest power from the moon?" Rumpel said to her.  
"I don't want to," Annabelle said, she sounded like her mature self, her cursed self.  
Rumpel scooped her up and sat on the window sill with her in his lap, "What is it sweetheart? Are you still sacred?"  
"Not of Cora," Annabelle said looking down.  
Rumpel put his hand on her small face lifting up so he was looking at her, "then what are you scared of?"  
"Me," Annabelle answered, "I knew that you always said that magic had consequences. I never knew what you meant but now I do."  
She was starting to understand, Rumpel hoped she wouldn't not yet. She was too young to understand what she had been turly born into.  
"My heart," Annabelle continued, "it has darkness in it."  
"So does mine sweetheart," Rumpel said trying to comfort her.  
"But I don't want to be like Cora," Annabelle said, "I don't want to be bad. What if the darkness in my heart grows?"  
"Annabelle listen to me, you're not a bad person," Rumpel said to her, "Cora was. You are not like her. Cora only acted upon darkness, she was selfish and only looked to better herself. That's what makes you dark."  
"Cora said that she used to be friends with you that's how she got her magic," Annabelle said, "were you like her once too?"  
Rumpel sighed perhaps it was time to tell part of the truth, "I was. I wasn't the same man I am now when I met her. I was darker sweetheart, much darker."  
"So how did you end up the way you are now?" Annabelle asked.  
"I fell in love," Rumpel said smiling as his mind ran through all his good memories, "with your mother. She always saw the best in me and pulled it out of me. Eventually I saw that she had a lot more to offer me that my dark magic ever would. I'm a happier man the way I am now that I used to be.'  
"Do you think that I'll end up going darker?" Annabelle worried.  
"No, because I can see in you what I see in your mother," Rumpel smiled to her, "you two are a lot more alike than you realize. I'm not worried about you at all."  
"I'm still scared," Annabelle quietly whimpered, "the magic. The kind that you and Cora used. It's a lot more powerful than anything I can do, and more dangerous...I'm scared of it."  
"I know you are sweetheart and I know how it feels to be scared, trust me," Rumpel chuckled lightly, "it's because you don't know how to use that kind of magic and I pray that you never will have to use it. You're only six Annabelle, you have the rest of your life ahead of you and I will always be here to help you through your magic. That's why I'm not worried about the darkness in your heart because I had no one. You have us, all of us."  
Annabelle slightly shrugged she knew this was true but she was still scared but it was a comfort knowing that her papa would always her there to help her.  
"Oh, speaking of you being six," Rumpel said and waved his hand, a small box appeared in his hand wrapped in gold paper, "Happy birthday Annabelle."  
Annabelle took it feeling excitement bubbling in her. She tore away the gold paper and opened the box. Inside of it was a locket. A heart shaped locket, only instead of silver it was gold and instead of a ruby it was a heart shaped sapphire. It looked just like her mama's wedding ring.  
"Is this Regina's locket?" Annabelle asked with a huge smile on her face.  
"No, this is your locket," Rumpel smiled, "turn it over."  
On the back of it it had Annabelle's name engraved in it, "what's inside? Is is magic?"  
"Open it," Rumpel said to her.  
Annabelle opened up her locket and inside found two pictures, one of her papa and one of her mama. It was perfect.  
"Annabelle, what ever you decide to do with your life, where ever you decide to go and what ever you do good or bad in your life as long as you have this locket me and your mother will always be with you and we will always love you," Rumpel swore to her holding her close. He took the locket and slipped it around her neck pulling her long hair out of the chain.  
"I love you too papa," Annabelle replied with a yawn. She fell down onto Rumpel's chest and Rumpel stroked her hair. Slowly Annabelle fell asleep to the sound of his heart beat.

* * *

A few weeks had passed and the kingdom returned to its former glory. Rumpel spun gold all day to help stimulate the city. He also ventured to neighboring kingdoms ending the fighting and showing them Annabelle. To prove to them that she wasn't a threat, they all agreed to end the fighting after months of bloodshed getting them no where.  
One Sunday morning, before the castle had waken up for the day, Rumpel had Belle wrapped around him like silk. At least that's what it felt like with his hand on her soft bare back. Belle had her hands tangled in his hair as her mouth was on his and this time Rumpel remembered to put a lock on the door.  
"I want another one," Belle said softly to him breaking away from the kiss.  
"Another what?" Rumpel asked.  
"Another baby," Belle replied moving her hand to his face, "Annabelle doesn't even liked to be called a baby anymore."  
"You died from having her though," Rumpel pointed out despite the fact it did sadden him that his daughter could now say consequences properly and demanded to not be called a baby.  
"But now we have her she can save me again," Belle replied.  
"I know," Rumpel expressed, "I just hate seeing you in pain."  
Belle just smiled at this and looked down at him deep into his eyes, "so does Annabelle ever still talk about turning into Cora anymore?"  
"No, I think she's starting to get over it," Rumpel said recalling his more recent lessons with Annabelle, "she'll be just fine."  
"I still can't believe Cora tried to curse her into thinking that the three of you were a family," Belle said with a flash of anger in her eyes.  
Rumpel chuckled, he was always so used to soft gentle Belle but mama bear Belle was a whole other story.  
"You and her used to be...together right?" Belle asked slowly. She found it best to usually leave Rumpel's past alone, especially Rumpel's past lovers, but her curiosity had peaked.  
"Yes..." Rumpel said recalling that part of his life, "but that was long before you were even born."  
"Did you love her?" Belle asked.  
"I thought I did," Rumpel sighed, "but I always knew that my curse could be broken through true loves kiss. When I was with her and the curse didn't break I knew she wasn't the one. That dearie will always be you."  
"You knew the whole time that a kiss could break your curse?" Belle asked.  
"Yes I did, but I didn't believe that I would ever be able to find her," Rumpel expressed, "and when I met you I never thought that it would end up being you."  
"So how did you realize that you never loved Cora?" Belle continued on.  
Now Rumpel could see it, "are you jealous?"  
"No!" Belle tried to lie. She wouldn't come to admit to being jealous of that witch, in all honesty she was jealous of anyone else that touched Rumpel. Even though it was years before her time, she wished that she was the only one that Rumpel ever loved.  
"Trust me Belle it took me a long time to find my way to you," Rumpel said cupping her face, "now that I have I realized that I never loved Mila or Cora. It's always been you, it was always meant to be you."  
This part warmed Belle's heart and her blue eyes sparkled a little more.  
"Besides you and me have one thing that Cora and I never will have," Rumpel said grinning at her.  
"What?" Belle asked.  
"A family," Rumpel said. He then slowly flipped Belle over and layed her back down on to the pillows, "now... about that baby."  
"I thought we decided no?" Belle replied to him.  
"I though we were making a deal..." Rumpel replied to a giggling Belle.  
Of course, it was a deal that bound them together forever in the first place. It was a deal back in the library six years ago that gave them Annabelle. What Belle loved the most about his deals was that Rumpelstiltskin was always a man of his word.

The End


End file.
